Lavender hasn't Bloomed

[aaradyn]

Ok, so bought a 6' pot of lavender last spring (the card had fallen out so I don't know what variety I have) and while it has gotten MUCH bigger, it hasn't bloomed once. The leaves are healthy, a beautiful color and very fragrant, I haven't had any dying off at all but not a single stalk with flowers on it - not even stalks! Just more leaves.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that I have a healthy plant but I'd really love it to bloom. I potted it in a 10" pot in the spring and it lived on my deck until about two weeks ago when all my herb pots came inside. 2 broad leaf basil, a small leaf basil, 1 oregano, 1 thyme, 1 sage, a strawberry (no fruit this year on that little guy either) a rosemary and my Meyer lemon - I haven't had lemons either. But that's not dropping leaves, is getting TONS of flowers but no fruit. My herbs have given me a good harvest and everything but my sage and my lavender have gone to flower at least once.

So, any thoughts on why I haven't had any flowers out of the lavender? I'm not so worried about the sage, it's a little spindly but the harvest has been good.

Thanks!

[annmarie]

Reasons can be many. Stress is what brings to mind your plant not blooming. Maybe too much stress to actually bloom the first year. I bought some hydrangea shrubs and i suppose they stressed too and didnt bloom until the second season. I got my information from the below blog: It has alot of good gardening tips on it.
Hope This Helps Ann Marie
http://onlinegardenplantnursery.blogspot.com/

[imafan26]

Without knowing what variety of lavender you have it is hard to tell, but most lavenders and lavindins bloom in early summer and the bloom is brief lasting only a few weeks. The only lavender I have that blooms almost continuously is lavender multifida. It is also the best one for me to grow since it is a zone 10-11 plant. Most of the l. augustifolia, which have a stronger scent like it in zone 8 or 9. I have more lavindins because they do better. But even lavindins bloom in summer, and some of the blooms will not fully open for me because I am in zone 12a.

So, if your plant is healthy then there is probably nothing wrong with your plant. In January, cut back the lavender, but do not cut into the old wood. You can propagate the cuttings. It will flush out better and rejuvenate the plant. You want to slow down the formation of woody growth. Old wood does not rejuvenate very well. The lower leaves of the lavender will turn black here with the winter rains. Your plant will probably bloom at the right time of the year.

[rainbowgardener]

You are in Boston, so presuming they sold you a variety that is hardy for you, it is likely some variety/ cultivar of English lavender, L. angustifolia. In that case, it didn't need to come in for the winter. It is hardy to zone 5, which is you. The same is in fact true of the oregano, sage, thyme. All of them are cold hardy to zone 5, and would over winter in the ground.

In pots is more difficult winter situation than in the ground If you didn't want to / can't plant them in the ground, you would probably need to give the pots some protection. The oregano and strawberry are rated hardy to zone 4, which means you have a margin of error for leaving them in pots for the winter.

Of what you named only the basil, rosemary, and lemon need to come in for the winter. The basil is an annual, so even though you can keep it alive for the winter, it is hardly worth it, it will be woody and non-productive at the end of its life cycle. I did try it one year and was disappointed in the results.

Assuming you really meant 6 inches, not 6 feet, that's a pretty small lavender. So it will probably bloom just fine next summer, if it is in full sun, with alkaline to neutral, sandy soil. In a pot, you might want to use cactus mix or at least mix some in with the potting soil. It does not need much fertilizing (none, if there are nutrients built in to the potting mixes). In fact, too much nitrogen fertilizer, would contribute to it growing fast, but not blooming. Mine blooms in the summer and then, if harvested, keeps blooming off and on until hard frost - it is one of the last things blooming in my yard.

[imafan26]

Lavenders in pots will stay smaller. In the ground they can become large mounds.

[rainbowgardener]

In the ground in Hawaii, if they thrive there, they probably become gigantic (or is it too wet and humid for them?). In the ground in the SanFrancisco Bay area where my son lives, I have seen lavender bushes as tall as I am (not sure what kind of lavender those are). In cold winter country where they die back and go dormant every winter, I haven't seen the English lavender even in the ground get much more than a couple feet tall. Once they get that size, they just slowly spread and get wider.

[imafan26]

Lavender multifida is the most adaptable here, but lavender dentata and most of the lavendins do well too. In the ground a lavender multifida gets about 2 feet tall and three feet in diameter even with annual pruning. It would probably spread more and get a little taller without the pruning. L. augustifolia needs to be moved into morning sun for the summer so, I can't have those in the ground.

Multifida grows best as it is a zone 10-11 plant. L. augustifolia really does not like to go beyond zone 8. I can grow zone 9 plants at my elevation so if I get the lavender acclimated it survives. L. augustifolia lasted 2 weeks at 17 ft above sea level in summer. It is 4-9 degrees warmer at sea level than where I am throughout the year.

The lavender needs water until it gets established then it can tolerate some neglect. The winter rains cause the most problems since it can rain a little almost every day. If the foliage is not able to dry out, the lower leaves turn black. Pruning in January opens up the air circulation, gets rid of the black leaves and rejuvenates the plant.

http://magnoliagardensnursery.com/plant ... -lavender/