Lavenders are simple, low-maintenance plants that benefit from carelessness. Lavenders are a fantastic choice if you are a novice gardener or want to save time by cultivating plants that essentially take care of themselves.
Why lavenders are simple to grow and maintain is as follows:
- Because they can withstand drought, lavender plants don’t require frequent watering.
- Due of their adaptation to low fertility soils, lavender plants don’t require fertilization.
- Lavender only needs to be pruned twice a year, and it is quick and simple to do so.
- Depending on your inclination, you can grow lavender outdoors, in containers, or indoors.
- English lavender species can withstand the winter and are resistant to disease and the cold.
The easiest lavender varieties to grow are the English variations since they are the most resilient and disease resistant. Non-English varieties, on the other hand, demand warm climes and are vulnerable to winter frost damage.
All lavenders need full sun, soil that drains well and has been sanded, and they prefer alkaline soils.
Lavender is surprisingly simple to grow once you know a few best practices and set up the correct circumstances. For quick information on what you should know to grow lavender successfully and easily, keep reading.
Table of Contents
Lavenders Need Watering Infrequently
Lavenders are adaptable to dry environments with minimal rainfall because of their Mediterranean background.
In most areas, mature lavender plants don’t even require any irrigation. Limiting watering to twice a week throughout the growing season is crucial because the majority of problems with lavender arise from overwatering and overfertilizing the plant.
| Type of Lavender | When should I water my lavender? |
| Long-standing Lavenders | During the growing season, established lavender plants only require one watering every two weeks. You can put off watering for at least another week if there has been a lot of rain in the last two weeks. Since established lavender plants are dormant during the winter and get all the water they need from sporadic rain, you won’t need to water them at all. |
| Lavender Plants Just Planted | Lavender that has just been planted will need extra care the first year it is planted. To lessen transplant shock, water the plant right away after planting and once weekly for four weeks. You can reduce watering to once every two weeks after the first four weeks. |
| Lavenders in pots | Even if there has been some rain, it is crucial to water potted lavender plants once every two weeks because they are slightly more prone to drying out than planted lavender. Make sure the pot’s base has openings that will allow any extra water to drain. |
| Lavenders indoors | During the growing season, lavender plants grown indoors should be watered once every two weeks and placed in the sunniest window of the home with at least 6 hours of direct sun. |
| In the Winter | Outdoor lavender plants do not require additional water during the winter because they enter a state of dormancy to conserve resources. However, indoor lavender plants, whether they are kept year-round or just during the winter, will need some water once every 4-6 weeks to prevent them from drying out completely. |
Additionally, lavender needs soil that drains well and doesn’t retain water. The perfect soil structure will be created by a blend of 30% sand and 70% compost, which will allow excess water to drain away and the roots of the lavender to stay dry in between waterings.
Make sure the soil drains effectively because lavender plants will likely get root rot if left in wet soil. Planting lavender in pots or raised beds is the best option if your property is naturally swampy and has permanently moist soil.
No Need to Fertilize Lavenders…
The converse is true for lavender, which needs low to medium fertility soils and, in particular, English types, which don’t need any additional fertilizer.
The greatest blooms and strongest scents are actually produced when lavender plants are grown in poor soils, which may go against a gardener’s instincts. Lavenders have evolved to live in low- to medium-nutrient environments.
Fertilizing lavenders will encourage the growth of the foliage at the expense of the flowers and scents, and the foliage may turn yellow (a sign of excessive nitrogen, if this has happened, read my article on what to do about lavenders with yellow foliage).
Lavenders will flourish when planted in garden soil that has been treated with lots of sand or gravel to mimic their native low fertility soil conditions.
Pruning Lavenders is Easy
Lavender pruning takes about five minutes twice a year:
- All you have to do is cut off 1/3 of the lavender’s green growth using a clean pair of pruners or shears.
- To better withstand winter temperatures, prune the plant into the form of a spherical mound.
- Never remove the brown, woody growth by cutting into it; doing so does not regenerate. When pruning, always keep within the green growth.
Pruning helps lavender live longer, prevents the growth of woody growth, and encourages the creation of additional stems that will provide more flowers.
At the beginning of spring, just as new leaf starts to appear from the plant’s base, prune the lavender once.
At the conclusion of the summer, when you are merely eliminating the fallen flower stalks and preserving the mound shape before winter, perform another gentle pruning.
Check out this YouTube video for a useful tutorial:
Lavenders can be Grown Indoors, Outdoors or in Pots
Indoors, outdoors, or in pots on patios and balconies, lavender plants can thrive.
When deciding where to place your lavender, the main factors to take into account are whether it will receive enough sunlight (lavenders need more than 6 hours of sunlight per day) and whether it can be planted in soil that is porous and allows water to drain quickly because lavenders prefer their roots to be dry between waterings.
Although you must make sure that there are lots of drainage holes at the base of the pot so that water doesn’t collect at the bottom, lavenders grow particularly well in pots since they offer optimal drainage conditions.
For best practices on how to grow lavender successfully in pots, read my guide on Growing Lavenders in Pots.
Since they thrive indoors and won’t occupy half your window space, dwarf types of lavender like Lavandula angustifolia Munstead are the finest option for growing indoors.
The care of lavenders indoors is essentially the same as caring for them outside, though it is better to keep them out of bathrooms and kitchens because lavenders prefer dry leaves.
Lavender plants kept indoors are a wonderful way to enjoy the distinctive floral scent in your home.
For the best techniques and detailed care instructions, see my guide: How to Grow Lavenders Inside.
English Lavenders are Winter Hardy and Disease Resistant
The varieties Lady Lavender and Hidcote Superior, for example, can tolerate temperatures as low as -30 °C (-20 °F).
The more delicate Spanish, French, and Italian lavender species can also be grown if your area doesn’t experience freezing temperatures during the winter.
However, you will need to preserve non-English lavenders over the winter if there are unseasonably cold temperatures by putting them in pots and bringing them indoors or using a cloche.
However, as they are the most durable and dependable of all, you should always choose English types of disease-resistant, low-maintenance lavender.
English lavenders can withstand snow and hard winters as long as they are planted in well-draining soil and get plenty of sun. The following year, they will bloom.
Pruning becomes an even more crucial component of outdoor lavender’s winter preparation since it makes the plants less susceptible to snow and frost damage.
For more information on how to get lavender ready for winter, read my article.
Key Takeaways:
- Since lavenders are drought-tolerant plants, they may readily withstand periods of dry weather even if you forget to water them.
- Because they are accustomed to low soils, lavender plants don’t actually need to be fed or fertilized. Avoid using fertilizer because feeding lavenders can frequently result in lanky growth and a lack of blooms.
- Lavenders only need to be pruned twice a year to maintain a healthy plant, and it only takes five minutes.
- Lavenders can be cultivated effectively indoors, outdoors, or in containers depending on your living situation and still result in an abundance of aromatic blooms.
- English lavenders are resistant to disease and can withstand harsh winters. By planting lavenders in soil that drains well and watching out for overwatering, the fungus root rot can be easily prevented.
- Select a site for your lavender that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight per day. Your lavender plant will be able to produce more scent, oil, and blossoms as the amount of sunlight increases.
FAQ
Can you start lavender from cuttings?
Plant Propagation for Lavender Cuttings of hardwood or softwood can be used to start lavender plants. Cuttings for softwood trees are made from the flexible, supple tips of fresh growth. Softwood is thinner and bends more easily than hardwood. If you bend it too much, it can break.
Does lavender plant multiply?
Growing lavender plants from cuttings is simple and more likely to succeed than starting them from seeds. You may rely on cuttings to produce plants that are identical to their parent plants.
Do lavender come back every year?
A Low-Maintenance Perennial Is Lavender is a terrific investment because this beauty will return to your garden every year for roughly three to five years. However, I want to advise you to always pick plants that flourish in your plant hardiness zone before you make any plant purchases.