Easy to grow and appreciate, lavender is a great addition to any garden with its beautiful flowers and sweet scent. All you need to grow and maintain this distinctive scented plant is to place it in the right position in your garden and learn a little bit of gardening science. In no time you will become an expert in gardening.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Getting Started
Step 1. Choose a good location
Lavender is a Mediterranean plant, so it is easy to grow and thrive in hot, sunny areas. Choose a position in your garden where the plants can receive at least 8 hours of sunlight a day and the plants can be protected from winter winds.
Planting your lavender near a boulder or wall is a good idea as the plant can get additional heat and protection
Step 2. Make sure the soil has a good enough absorbency
Moisture is the enemy of lavender, so take that into account when choosing a site with good absorbent soil. The soil must be light, fine, and well-oxygenated for lavender to grow optimally.
- To increase the absorbency of the soil, you can mix in a little sand before starting to plant.
- Another alternative is to plant lavender in a planting container, on a slope, or next to a wall to maximize absorption.
Step 3. Check the soil pH
Lavender is best grown in slightly alkaline soil with an ideal pH level between 6.7 to 7.3. You can measure the pH of your soil using a regular pH meter, which can be found at home improvement stores or gardening centers.
If needed, you can increase the alkalinity of the soil by adding a little lime juice. Add about 60 to 90 ml of lime juice per cubic foot to the soil
Step 4. Buy the lavender plant you want
Many types of lavender species are available for growing in the home garden. Whether lavender will grow or die depends on the conditions in the area where you live. The types of lavender sold on local farms will usually be adapted to local conditions, or you can check the plant label or ask someone who works on the plantation if you're not sure.
- Mustead and Hidcote are lavender varieties that have resistance.
- While it is possible to grow lavender from seed, it is not recommended. To plant from seeds requires patience because the seeds take almost a month to germinate.
Method 2 of 3: Planting
Step 1. Dig a hole big enough for the roots
Use a shovel to dig a hole in the location where you will plant the lavender. The hole should be deep and wide enough to accommodate the roots. Lavender grows optimally in slightly cramped conditions.
If you are growing lavender in a pot or container, choose a container large enough to accommodate the roots and spaced one inch apart on each side
Step 2. Prepare the soil
Prepare the soil for planting lavender and optimize its growing conditions by mixing two 2.5cm balls of rock, then half a glass of lime juice, and compost and lime into the hole. Stir until combined and cover with a thin layer of soil.
The stones will help with the absorption process, the limes will alkalize the soil, and the fertilizer will help your lavender plant grow well
Step 3. Water the lavender that is still in the container before planting
You should water the lavender plants that are still in the container at least an hour before you start planting. This keeps the roots watery, but not too wet, before planting into the soil.
Step 4. Trim the lavender
Prune the lavender before planting to ensure good air circulation through the stem, helping new shoots grow and preventing the center of the stem from becoming too dense, which is a common problem for lavender growth.
Step 5. Prepare the roots
Remove the lavender plant from the original container and gently shake it to loosen the adhering soil from the roots. Lavender should be planted with clean roots to ensure that the plant can adapt quickly and easily to a new environment.
Step 6. Plant lavender
Move the lavender plant slowly to the position provided and place it on a layer of soil that has been given a fertilizer mixture underneath. Make sure that the plant roots are not in direct contact with the fertilizer mixture. Cover the roots of the plant with soil and gently tap the base of the plant stem.
If you are planting more than one lavender plant, leave 91cm between each plant to provide good air circulation and space for the lavender to grow
Method 3 of 3: Treatment
Step 1. Apply fertilizer to the soil
Lavender is a plant that requires very little care and only needs to be fertilized once a year. Use a light compost in early spring. You can also add fish oil or seaweed extract once or twice to lavender plants during the summer.
Step 2. Water the plant occasionally
As mentioned earlier, moisture is the enemy of lavender and if the roots of the plant become too wet and damp, it can cause the plant to die more quickly than the effects of dry, cold temperatures. Due to the fact, excessive watering of lavender plants in spring is the main cause of lavender growth failure.
- To get a good level of watering, make sure the soil is dry before the next watering. But don't let the plant dry out.
- If you are growing lavender in a pot, make sure that the pot has good absorbency to prevent water from pooling at the bottom of the pot.
Step 3. Prevent grass from growing
You can prevent weeds from growing around lavender plants by covering the soil with a thin layer of straw or using another light-colored artificial layer such as coarse soil, gravel, or shells. This artificial layer can also help protect plant roots in the winter.
Step 4. Prune the lavender plant
You should prune your lavender plants once a year preferably in the spring when new shoots start to sprout. You should trim about 1/3 of the entire plant with scissors or pruners for a neater shape.
- Pruning your lavender will help the growth of new shoots and prevent the plant from breaking.
- Be sure not to over-prune the lavender, as any new shoots that grow may be trimmed off as well.
Step 5. Harvest flowers
The best time to harvest lavender flowers is when the bottom of the flower on each stem begins to open. This is the pinnacle of beauty and fragrance that lavender produces. Cut the flowers at the base of the stem near the leaves.
- To dry the lavender you have planted, tie about a hundred flowers together, then secure them with a rubber band and hang them indoors in a warm, dark and dry place and place them upside down for about 10 to 14 days.
- If you want to decorate your home with lavender, place the flowers in a vase, but don't soak the roots in water. This will cause the flowers to wilt more quickly and the stems to rot.
Tips
- Lavender leaves have many types ranging from pale green to silvery gray, in some species even have a light leaf color. Not all types of these plants are always available, you need to search through websites or seed catalogs.
- Mature lavender stems can usually become overgrown and make it difficult to spread the green matter on the plant. If transplanting is necessary, remove the plant in the spring when new shoots begin to grow and repeat planting immediately. Plants can be propagated by layering.
- Some types of lavender can be grown directly from seed (especially the "Munster" variety), or can be purchased pre-potted in the spring. Favorite lavender varieties are "Grosso", "Provence", "Royal Purple", "Gray Lady", and "Hidcote".
- Lavender flowers bloom in mid-summer and begin to change color from grayish purple to dark purple. In other species there are other colors such as white, pink, and greenish yellow. The flowers produced are usually small, sometimes like a bud but bloom on the other side and grow on thorny stems.
- Mature lavender plants are 30 – 90 cm tall depending on the variety and require 6 hours of sunlight per day or more to thrive. This plant has a hardiness zone of 5 to 10, and provides a distance of about 38cm between plants.
