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PunkRotten
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Sick Lavender

Hi,

About 2 weeks ago I bought a lavender plant. I transplanted to a 12 inch pot using cactus potting soil. I watered it then put in full sun and have not watered since.


Two days later after transplant I noticed some drooping leaves and some of the flower spikes were drooping too. I assumed this was maybe transplant shock or maybe I watered too much. So I left it be hoping it would recover on its own.


Today I see no difference and decided to move it to an even sunnier location. I felt the flower spikes and they were all crispy, some of the lower plant leaves were crispy too. But the upper leaves still feel fine. What is going on here? Someone told me the plant is dehydrated and I need to water more. I was under the impression they like it hot and dry like sage and rosemary. And I have had lavender die in the past from too much watering/not enough sun.


They told me I should be using regular potting mix too, and I should be dunking the whole pot in water and allow to sit there for like 10-15 mins. And I should do this often that I should not ever let the lavender get dry that it should always be a little moist.

I am not convinced this is the proper care. I thought they didn't like "wet feet". But I am growing it in a pot too. What do you think the problem is and how to treat? Thanks.

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soil
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chances are the nursery you got it from watered daily. so well..... its used to being watered daily or pretty close to it. you need to keep it well watered at first and slowly over time increase the time between watering.

plants that are "drought tolerant" are only drought tolerant when they are full established. roots the size of the pot are not going to do anything if you don't water. once the roots dig down 3-5 ft then you can start to stop watering things like lavender.

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applestar
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I think after transplanting, it's best to give plants time to recover, especially when planting in a pot, place them in semi- shaded location (I usually put them in dappled shade under a tree) even if it's a full sun plant. When planting in the garden, don't plant on sunny hot day, but on a hazy or overcast day. I sometimes even plant on misty or spitting rainy day.

In most cases, I give them full soaking of water at time of transplanting. I think probably the only exception is cactus. Subsequent watering schedule will depend on the plant.

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PunkRotten
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I gave the lavender a deep watering today. Because of my ignorance the plant has a lot of sun damage. I'd say about 75% of the laves are dry/crispy. Would it be a good idea to cut the stems within a few inches to the ground? I heard you prune the lavender after flowering but I had to cut mine off prematurely because they got all crispy. I am not so sure when they would of naturally died back.

gardencook
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I've had great success with my lav, and I'm in sunny southern CA. What'd I do? Transplanted to a 9-12" pot (can't remember which atm - too dark to go outside and double check) with normal potting soil, placed in full sun (at least 6 hours a day), and watered lightly (as in a heavy spray for less than a minute), daily. It thrived.

When I transplanted it, we left a couple of days go without watering since it was supposed to rain - and that was a bad idea. Definitely, DEFINITELY when transplanting - even to a pot - water it more than you maybe usually would until the roots are established enough to draw from deep-soil water - then you won't have to worry so much about keeping the soil moist, as in theory the deeper soil will stay moist longer and give the plant more water to draw from - the roots just have to be able to reach it, first.

My artichokes down here will wilt if I don't water them at least every couple of days, and they're plenty well established. I typically do enough watering to keep the DEEP soil damp regularly, and the topsoil damp overnight (as I water in the evening, and of course it dries out during the day).

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PunkRotten
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Yeah my rosemary and sage are doing excellent and I barely water them. And when I got them they were tiny. I just did not really take into the fact that growing in a pot they need more frequent watering. I like lavender a lot but have not had success growing it yet. I feel if I got a fresh new plant I would do the right thing now that I know better.

This plant I have now is not dead but damaged. I would like to get it back to good health ASAP. Could I prune it?

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Runningtrails
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I would prune it back. I always cut mine back in the garden and not just after flowering. Mine is an herb that I use all the time, so it gets frequent cuttings. I cut it back completely in the fall and hang all the stems to dry.

It branches out more and grows very well after pruning.

I would cut all the damanged stuff off.



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