How to Grow & Care for Lavender?

[Vontroxler]

Hello everybody! I'm new here and also new to gardening. I really want to get into this and be good at it. So far I have a Devil's Ivy, Aloe Vera, English Lavender, and a mother-in-law's tongue.

I actually want to specialize in growing lavender as a hobby. I need some help, though. I bought my lavender today and repotted it already. I used a small amount of organic succulent soil mix, and a mixture of sand/soil from my backyard. I'm not exactly sure where to go from here. So, I have a lot of question hopefully some of you can answer

- Should I water it now that it's in a new container or wait? How much water?

- What does it mean to "prune"? When and how should I do that?

- I hear that you're supposed to trim it for quicker and fuller growth?

Basically I will take any tips you guys have for me. I'll read any book or Web page on the subject. I'm ready to grow this lavender!

[Vontroxler]

Is this a good option to give my plants a boost?http://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Gro-1001501-Purpose-Liquid-32-Ounce/dp/B000RNENU8

[skiingjeff]

There is a good video series on Ehow on Lavendar I found when trying to understand how to prune my lavender. Here is the site: http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_8756_guide-lavender.html

Also, this article, while it has a lot of advertising interspersed in it, has some good information as well: http://everything-lavender.com/lavender-care.html

Good Luck!

[applestar]

Don't fertilize for at least a week while your plant recovers from the repotting process. There are likely some nutrients added in the soil mix you used, and lavender should not be fed heavily anyway.

I see you used a terra cotta pot. Did you soak it before using? If not definitely water since the dry terra cotta will draw moisture from the soil and rob from the plant. Set the pot in a tray or shallow tub and gently water until water comes out from the bottom, then let the pot soak for about 15-20 min. Then remove the tray.

Don't put the plant in full sun for at least 24 hrs.

[imafan26]

Lavender needs good drainage and does not like a lot of fertilizer. I only use a slow release. You will need to pot up the lavender as is gets bigger.

[rainbowgardener]

Pruning and trimming are basically the same for lavender. To keep it blooming, you want to trim the flower stems off, just when the buds start to open. You can cut the stem off with scissors. If you notice, they often have flowers, then bare stem for awhile, then leafy area. Look at the leafy area and cut halfway down in to that. When it gets older, the lower part of the stems tend to get woody. Don't cut in to the woody part, always leave some green stem and leaves.