a few newly planted lavender heading for the last roundup

[SGT Lavender]

I started a previous thread about my first garden venture; it's at the point where I'm shifting gears, so I thought I'd start another thread.

Anyway, I finished planting my lavender bed as of last Sunday 5/11/14. We had a couple very sunny days, and a few rain showers mixed in.

I planted 124 lavender plants (Grosso, 4") and put a few handfuls of stone in the bottom of each hole for drainage. I also mixed an aggregate of sand and pebble sized stones with the soil with some lime and a bit of bonemeal and a bit of composted manure.

4 of my plants look like they are dying.

They were a little droopy when I received them in shipment. I was hoping the sunlight would turn it around, but it's not.

The other 120 look like they're doing okay. Some of them look like they're already growing (saw what looked like a bud on one of them this morning. I seriously almost giggled when I saw it).

Anything I can do for my 4 stragglers?

[evtubbergh]

They sound like they were stressed already when you put them in. I would give them a good soaking and maybe some shade. I find lavender is quite hardy though so there is a god chance they will manage.

[rainbowgardener]

It would really help if you would change your profile so your location shows. I went back through and found your intro that says you are in PA, but it is a pain to have to do that. There are no garden questions that can be answered without regard to location and climate.

So you are like me, not in an ideal climate for lavender. Doesn't mean we can't grow it, just that we may have to work harder.

If you had asked before you put all the stone in the bottom of the planting holes, I would have said don't do it. People used to put rocks or gravel in the bottom of flower pots "for drainage." After awhile it was discovered that makes drainage worse not better. It turns out if there is a sharp border in textures, like between potting soil and gravel, water will not cross the boundary, so you end up with a flower pot with dry gravel in the bottom with soggy potting soil sitting on top of it.

Hopefully your rocky mixture won't form such a boundary. But all this rain we have been having too much water is going to be your problem. Lavender does NOT like to stay wet. I would dig up one of the droopy ones and see what the soil is like around it and above the stones.

[imafan26]

Since you planted 124 lavenders, there may have been a few casualties that were damaged in transport, out in the sun too long or simply planted too deep.

If they are in shock, they may come back. I would not over water the lavender they do not like a lot of water and they hate being watered overhead.

[ElizabethB]

RBG know a lot about growing, using and cooking with lavender so take her advice as Gospel.

Good luck