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Garden Gate:  help w/ my lavender  |
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westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 07 2007 : 11:52:19 AM
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I went outside to check my birdfeeders and when I passed by my lavender plant it looked like it does in early spring. No real buds but the stems take on a beautiful blue-gray before the buds start. Im so afraid I'll lose it w/ this too warm weather. This plant is only in its 3rd growing season and is about 2 1/2 ft. tall. I had to baby it & I don't want to lose it when the winter does get here. Any suggestions?? It's english hidcote. 
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
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summerbreeze
True Blue Farmgirl
277 Posts
Laura
WA
USA
277 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2007 : 11:58:48 AM
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I wish I knew what to tell you. I will be interested to see what everyone has to say. My winter has been much colder than normal but my spring bulbs are starting to come up. This is crazy it's January. I am expecting snow the middle of this next week.
Laura
You only live once,if you do it right once is enough. |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2007 : 2:22:39 PM
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Michelle- You and I are probably the same growing zone but different types of soil. If it seems like we might get snow, I would wrap it in burlap to protect it because it hasn't had the cold to harden off properly this year. This will do two things: protect from any snow piling up and splitting it apart and if you put some leaves in on top after you've wrapped it you will provide some protection from winter kill I hope. I spent many years babying boxwood, lavender growing where they were marginally hardy at best. DON'T pile mulch up around the base, since it has been so wet the crown may just rot away. I hope that helps you, I've got flowering Quince blooming today...Jeez Louise, this is just bizzare!
with a happy heart |
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westernhorse51
True Blue Farmgirl
1681 Posts
michele
farmingdale
n.j.
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2007 : 4:12:37 PM
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Thank you Bramble, I will try it, I don't want to lose it.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jan 09 2007 : 11:41:49 AM
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| I grow lots of lavender and have learned a few things the hard way over the years. Next year at the end of the blooming season, cut it way back to about two-thirds or more of its current size, pruning out old woody growth. This helps to prevent splitting from heavy snow, as Bramble mentioned, and give new growth some room to take over. Give it leaves or some other protection from cold wind. (Like rosemary, it's not so much the cold as the wind that will do harm.) If your plant is surrounded by open lawn, you might want to consider transplanting it to a more protected location, such as up against a wall facing full all-day sunshine. Lavender will root-rot easily in wet weather, so it's best to give it a raised bed. If you want to leave it where it is, be sure to disperse any water that collects in puddles near it to prevent rot, and when it gets cold, build a little "fence" of burlap and sturdy sticks close around it to keep it protected from wind. Other plants can provide protection for each other, too, so consider adding more lavender plants. They have a life-span that we must respect, even with the best of care, so it's nice to have new generations always coming along to replace the old. |
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Garden Gate: help w/ my lavender |
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help w/ my lavender
