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Sat, Sep 11, 10 at 13:11
| I love Lavender and would love to try to grow it. Does anyone in this area have good luck with it?
I sure could use advice on the best type for this area as well as tips. Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ladybugfruit 7b (My Page) on Sun, Sep 12, 10 at 15:18
| I've successfully grown spanish lavender..just make sure it has good drainage & it should do fine. :) |
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| I have one growing in a container (cement container) as that seems to be the only way I can keep it from getting too much water. Have never been able to grow one successfully inground, and they always get too wet when it rains (my property is low). So, that being said, the advice given above is the same as I would offer.......just don't let it get too wet, and it should do fine. |
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| What soil do you put in your container ? I've had a couple die on me after they got rained on heavily-I mixed our natural sandy loam with perlite and compost but the soil still seems to retain more moisture than the lavender likes? I'm thinking of trying bark chips in the soil next... |
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| The soil is very loose and the water drains without ever standing. I have a large pile (five truck loads) of leaf and limb clippings from a tree cutting service, and I mixed this in with regular potting soil. I will probably have to repot next year as the chips will decompose rather quickly. |
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| I too tried to grow some in the ground this year. It was a fairly mature plant when I planted it. It died during the hottest part of the season. It still could have been from being too wet though. I kept it watered pretty well. It was really a disappointment because they are so pretty. |
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- Posted by txgardenewb 7 (My Page) on Mon, Sep 13, 10 at 20:09
| No luck here, unfortunately. I tried to grow inground from seeds about two months ago but nothing has sprouted so far (I believe the seeds take 22-25 days to sprout). A big storm hit a couple of days after I planted them, so they probably got washed out. So disappointed! Hope you have better luck. |
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| Thanks so much for your thoughts; doesn't sound very promising, does it? With the crazy weather we have I can see how this would happen. I think I will try the Spanish Lavender, will let you know how it works out! I'm trying to get a French Garden or Provence garden look, but there are plenty of other plants to work with color-wise. Thanks again! |
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| I bought plants last year and planted inground. They didn't survive. |
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| I've got mine in a very high raised bed. It doesn't get much water, along with the other herbs that like it hot and dry. And standing water is obviously not a problem in this bed. It has done very well for me. That being said, I have not had luck in my other beds with lavender. Usually when winter comes, all the excess rain takes its toll. HTH Susan |
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- Posted by txgardenewb 7 (My Page) on Thu, Sep 16, 10 at 12:52
| I *may* have spoken too soon. I recently noticed something odd sprouting up in my yard just a couple of feet from where I originally planted my lavender seeds (English Tall and Hidcote Dwarf). It's possible they were moved by the huge storm that hit a few days later. I've never seen anything like this before, so I'm crossing my fingers it's lavender - Ogrose, maybe all hope is not lost! |
Here is a link that might be useful: Lavender?
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| It looks more like one of the fall blooming bulbs to me such as the ox blood lily. It will be fun to watch to see how it develops. Gardens are full of nice surprises! |
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| I have one that I planted in a pot 3.5 years ago that spent the first winter in the greenhouse and the next two outside because the roots grew out of the bottom of the pot into the ground. Last winter the cold got a good half of the branches and I honestly thought it was dead. I cut it back and left it alone, watering periodically, and it's held its own all summer. There's a lavender farm nearby somewhere, so there has to be a variety or two that's happy here! |
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| I live right down the road from a lavender farm. I visited them a few weeks ago and they too had lavender troubles this year. I think the torrential rains were just too much for a lot of the lavender plants. I had one I was nurturing from seed (I winter sowed), but alas lost it when it went from super wet to super hot.. |
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- Posted by cynthianovak 7/8 TX (My Page) on Sat, Sep 18, 10 at 0:47
| I can usually grow the fern leaf variety (love that fragrant foliage!) I planted it like last year near the street, above the curb. It did fine until the July rains came It was gone before the Sept rains. I'm not complaining about rain in the summer, just hat it was too much for some plants. That was one....well, it was 2 plants now the passiflora varieties I have thought it was plant perfection! |
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- Posted by random_harvest z8 TX DFW (My Page) on Thu, Sep 23, 10 at 12:20
| txgarden, you lucky thing, your mystery plant is lycoris radiata, also known as spider lily or hurricane lily. It will come back for you forever if you don't disturb it. RE lavender, I am its serial killer. I have tried every variety known to mankind and have never had any of them last longer than two years. I don't believe drainage is the secret -- mine dies where blackfoot daisies thrive. I think it's just one of those wonderful plants that hates Dallas summers, along with dahlias, delphiniums, and lilacs. Ah, lilacs! I still miss them! |
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| Random harvest, I have a lilac doing very well here in North Texas. Matter of fact, it is blooming again now......many of my plants think it is Spring. |
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- Posted by random_harvest z8 TX DFW (My Page) on Fri, Sep 24, 10 at 19:49
| Carrie, I am as green as your thumb with envy! :-) |
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| I think it has done so well because it is in a spot where I cannot kill it with kindness. When I planted it years ago, I thought it was in the perfect spot, but then we had to widen the entrance to the driveway, the trees grew and gave more shade and I thought since it was too large to move, I would just leave it and let it be on it's own. Well, it is handling it all very nicely, so I will just leave it alone and let it do it's thing. |
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| I grow the Spanish type, that I received from a friend in a west facing bed. I also grow rosemary,marigolds, blue scabiosa and roses in this bed. However, the lavender is toward the front and rarely gets watered. This raised bed was filled with Miracle Gro shrub soil mix and I only fertilize the rose which is toward the back of the bed. I have had this plant for two winters and I love it. Try growing it in a pot facing the west or the South where your sprinklers cannot reach it. |
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