Lavender Turning Brown & Withered?

[sammyyummy]

Hi.
My mom gave me some lavender plants.
They were planted in well draining soilless mix, and exposed to lots of sun (and heat Zone 11).
I water them sparingly and keep the soil from becoming too wet for prolonged periods of time (read that lavender hates getting its roots soaked). I water every other day when the soil becomes dry.
I have had them for 3-4 months now but have noticed them to have lost vigor : they're not of a healthy green color but somewhat pale green to almost brown grey, with the stems turning dark brown as well.

Are they a goner?
What am I doing wrong?
Please help. I had no success growing them from seeds for a year hence they were given to me; first time herb gardener here.




Thanks

[rainbowgardener]

They are not looking good; don't know if they can be saved or not.

I think still over watered. Every other day sounds like too much for lavender. I water mine every week or two. Your "well draining soil-less mix" still looks dark and rich, like maybe potting soil with peat moss? The lavender should be in something sandier like cactus mix.

You said lots of sun, but the picture looks like an indoor setting. Did they just come in to get their picture taken? Otherwise there is no amount of indoor sun that would be enough for them.

Finally, the pots are pretty small. Once they are growing well (hopefully), they need to be in bigger pots. If you pull them out of the pots (they can be just slid out without doing them any harm), you can check to see if they are getting root bound. If there are roots going around the outside of the root ball, that will smother them.

[sammyyummy]

The plants do receive a lot of sun, I just placed them indoors when I took the pic.

What can I do now with the plants?
How best can I take care of lavender plants?

[Susan W]

Lavender is a win some/lose some. Aside from that, where are you? That makes a big difference! I'm in Memphis, zone 7, and we have some problems with it here. I don't think it's the long hot summer, but warm humid summer nights. There are a couple of varieties however we can't winter. Spanish and French (may be the same). It needs warmer winters.

Just casually saying, I would pot the better looking ones into larger pots, wider and deeper. Cut off the nasty looking parts. Be sparing in watering.

[imafan26]

Lavenders don't look good in the rainy season anyway, especially if it rains for days on end. The bottoms of the plants turn black.

Lavender should be cut back around January. Cut only the young parts and do not cut into old wood. Cutting old wood can kill the plant. I usually only cut half the foliage off the lavender at a time, opening it up so light can get to the base. Once the new shoots appear on the cane and are growing well, then I cut of the rest of the foliage. If lavender is not pruned regularly, they get leggy and more woody with time. Cuttings can be rooted in perlite to produce more plants.

Check the pots, lavender starts to look bad when they are pot bound too. I pot up my lavender in pots usually up to a 5 gallon pot. They grow much bigger in the ground. They do like well drained soil and don't care that much for fertilizer. I use osmocote. A scoopful of compost doesn't hurt but make sure it does not pile up against the stem, it will rot the plant.

The type of lavender you have does matter. The lavendins are more heat tolerant than the lavenders. L. multifeda (fernleaf lavender) and L.dentata do best in zone 11 in full sun. L. augustifolia (zone 5-8) does o.k. in pots in cooler areas and summer afternoon shade.

Since your lavenders only have a single stem. I would check the pots to see if they need to be potted up. Remove all the dead brown leaves from the bottom of the plant. Pinch the top of the lavender to promote branching. At this time of the year they can be out in full sun in pots, but if it starts to rain heavily and for days on end, put the lavenders in a patio or under the eaves where they can stay a bit drier but still get good light until the rain stops. Check plants for water more often under the eaves, they get almost no water at all even in the pouring rain. I have more perlite in my media so I need to water lavender in pots every couple of days minimum. The lavender I have in the ground is planted on a slight slope and is about a year old. I do have a sprinkler system that waters for 5 min. every 4 days. I rarely water at all at this time of the year. In summer, I water deeply about once a week. I have red clay soil, so it holds on to water for a while. The lavender in the ground was cut back in February but it was a 3ft diameter mound and will get back to that size again by summer.

[Susan W]

Thanks imafan. The fernleaf and L. dentatas are so pretty and tempting, and I am telling myself NO when seen in the garden centers! The Munstead is my normal one, and wish I could stumble on more Hidcote. I haven't been good about pruning, and now trying to amend my ways. As I usually lose at least one, am potting new starts.

[imafan26]

The fernleaf and dentata grow better here because they are zone 9-11 plants. Most lavenders are zone 5-8. I can grow munstead and lavender lady, but the blooms barely open up and those are the ones that are short lived for me.

Hidcote I think likes cooler zones. Munstead can handle a little warmer.

[RogueRose]

I find that ignoring my lavender works best. Mine is in a container with some chives. Both the lavender and the chives come back every year. I don't water it regularly. I don't fertilize it. I prune it in the spring...that's about it!

[imafan26]

My lavenders in containers need to be watered every day or two, they have a very light mix. The one in the ground, except for the annual pruning only gets an occasional watering.

They don't like to be fertilized much and they do better when they are given enough space and just ignore them. Of course I did have to rescue mine from an overly aggressive nasturtium.

[Esther8]

I need some help how to revive my lavander. I bought it a week ago but when I came home I noticed that it was overwatered and starting to rot. I took out of the pot, I left it to breath for couple of days but it still gets brown and dry leaves and flowers. I need some tips what I could do to make it healthy?

[imafan26]

Get rid of the saucer. Lavender is really not a very good indoor plant. It needs a lot of light and watering has to be done especially carefully indoors. I don't like plastic pots. Black stems on lavender is usually from over watering. You can cut that back, it won't come back anyway. I would put the plant in a breathable container like terracotta. No saucer. Water only when the soil is dry . Lavender does not like a lot of fertilizer and it prefers a more alkaline soil. I don't know if it will come back. Sometimes when the stems turn black the roots are already rotting beyond salvaging.