Planting Lavender
Planting Lavender 8 Tips For Success
Planting Lavender is really not that difficult if you just follow these 8 simple tips.
1. Choose a Lavender variety that is tolerant of your geographical location. Grosso or Provence are relatively easy for most areas.
2. Planting Lavender in full sun which is very important.
3. Prepare the soil so it is loose and friable. Adding sand and planting Lavender in raised mounds if there is any concern at all about good drainage is the key to success. You should be able to stick you fingers down into the soil a few inches without it being tightly compacted at any given time. A gritty gravelly soil mixture makes Lavender happy and allows for good drainage.
4. Lavender needs an alkaline PH anything between 6.5 - 7.5 is fine. Add lime if needed. Planting near concrete which leaches lime also does the trick.
5. Planting far enough apart to allow for air circulation and for the eventual mature size of the Lavender plant.
6. Water well but allow the soil to dry out before doing it again. Do not let the plant go limp from dryness.
7. Mulch with two inches of sand, oyster shells, pea gravel at least 12 inches out around the base of the plant. These mulches reflect light and heat promoting dryness. This aids in keeping fungal diseases from killing your Lavender. Fungus frequently starts from the ground up where there is excess humidity around the plant.
8. Regularly prune your Lavender plant for shape, for air circulation, to prevent woodiness, and to remove dead branches.
Remember to Print these Tips for Planting Lavender Successfully to have on hand the next time you plant Lavender.
