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derekellis

New to this website

derekellis
10 years ago

Hello all, I am new to this website.

This past winter, a friend of mine gave me an Aloe plant, in a pot. My wife decided she wanted to grow a Lavender plant too.

First off, we live in Winsted, (Litchfield County) Connecticut. Also known as Northeast Corner.

I have the aloe plant in a 6 inch (diameter) pot, with Miracle grow Cactus potting mix. I have watered it every two weeks with (also) MG cactus fertilizer in the water, about a half quart.

I have the lavender in an 8 inch pot, with Miracle grow flowing potting mix. Same setup, with MG and water, and this one has been getting daily half quarts of water.

The Aloe plant has been indoors since I got it last November. I just put it outside for the season today.
The Lavender plant was bought brand new, and re-potted in a terracotta pot, and placed outside today as well (June 3rd)

The sun is strongest at the southern side of our Apartment building.

So, are there any more tips, suggestions or idea of what I could do with my plants?

Comments (7)

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    10 years ago

    Welcome!

    It sounds like the aloe is getting what it needs, though 2 quarts seems a bit much, especially if there has been rain. Do you let the excess moisture drain away? I have left an aloe without water for longer than 2 weeks, so if the soil isn't dry due to getting some rain, you don't need to water it. Bring the plant into the sun gradually - a couple hours the first day, and then a bit more each day. Leaves that have grown inside can get sunburned if moved from inside to full sun all at once.

    The lavender likes to be well-drained and is likely to rot with too much water. I would stick your finger in the potting soil and let the soil get completely dry down to the first knuckle of your finger before watering again. I usually use some pretty well drained soil (not unlike the cactus mix, though with some more organic matter) for potted lavender. When cold weather arrives, plants slow down their water use, and I turn my pots with lavender on their sides to keep water out of the soil. That keeps them from rotting, and I place the pots where they will be buried in snow for most of the winter since the alternating freezing and thawing is hard on the plant and the pot. Lavender does not like being inside a house, but will be fine if you have a cold porch or somewhere similar you can put it to keep the pot from cracking when the weather gets below freezing.

  • derekellis
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    We do not have a porch. The plants are outside right now against a fence.

    My Aloe plant gets a half quart every two weeks.

    Does lavender do good at all in doors? I plan on bringing both plants back indoors in Early September, before it starts freezing.

  • ctlady_gw
    10 years ago

    I second the welcome!

    Depending on the variety of lavender you have, it would do just fine being planted in the garden - many are hardy in Litchfield County (I live here, too ... for others, kerekellis is in the northwest corner of Connecticut (not the northeast), though the zone is probably the same in either.

    I would say in general, a hardy lavender variety will do better planted in the garden than brought in and out fall and spring. I have yet to successfully bring in herbs -- tried a lot, but you have to be SO careful in acclimating them to the change in light/heat/dryness/etc. of indoors vs. out. In the spring, you have to slowly introduce them to the outdoors, a few hours at a time as nhbabs says. I also agree not to even try that with lavender -- just plant it. The only key with lavender is NOT to cut it back until well into spring, when you see new growth. Many herbs can be cut back in the fall -- DON'T do that to your lavender!

    I know absolutely nothing about aloe except that I think of it as a houseplant here in the East and a garden plant in the West Coast. No clue how to care for it!

    Hope this helps! Good luck with the lavender. If it's any of the normally sold cultivars here in Connecticut, it will be fine planted in a bed outdoors. I doubt you can bring it in successfully.

  • derekellis
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Do'h! yeah im in the Northwest corner.

  • derekellis
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I also am not allowed to plant anything in the ground, I live in a multi-unit Apartment building.

  • gardenweed_z6a
    10 years ago

    I'll add my own welcome to the others above. I'm in north central CT and grew several lavender cultivars from seed via the winter sowing method in years past. While the seed germination rate for all was excellent, the plants I grew in large containers survived only their first winter. I lost them over the course of this past winter so I'm guessing you'd have no better long-term success with yours if you can't set them in the ground.

    Rule of thumb has it that perennials need to be hardy two zones colder (for me & lavender, that means Zone 3-4) in order to survive winter when grown in containers.

    According to Larry Hodgson's book 'Perennials for Every Purpose,' lavender prefers full sun with poor, well-drained soil which would automatically rule out containers filled with potting mix unless amended with some sort of grit or sand + with extra drainage holes in the bottom. Heavy rain late in the growing season would likely all but eliminate any chance of it surviving longer than a season or two.

    FWIW, the seed-grown lavender I planted in the ground has reliably come back in my west-facing bed this year (#3) which indicates it is possible to successfully include this in my zone & soil conditions.

  • diggerdee zone 6 CT
    10 years ago

    Welcome!

    :)
    Dee