I have some Hidcote in full sun. They did well last summer/fall and turned sort of grayish in winter. Not knowing that you are supposed to aggressively prune after blooming, I did a panic 25% prune three weeks ago. No change since then.......should I go ahead and do a 50-75% prune now, or do a wait and see? I don't think they are dead (all the other plants/flowers around them are doing nicely).
lavender question
you are in a warmer zone than I am, but my lavender stay pretty dead looking until they've had some spring drinks and warm nights as well as days.
will 'watch' to see advice on pruning back. I usually wait till I see what's greening and where before cutting back... or that's the excuse I use .
Appreciate the feedback, definitely encouraging. I love Utah (almost as much as Texas) ; probably the best place on the planet for outdoor activities.
I have a feeling a bunch of us will watching for the answer. I have several kinds of lavender, don't know when or how much to cut back (and didn't cut back at all last year.)
I have provence lavender and all I do is cut off the dead flower stalks when/if I have time. There are so many other things to do the lavendar gets neglected.
If you are going to prune them some more, do it now before they start to put on new growt when the weather warms up more.
Thanks Hazel!
I just bought some Lavender Yesterday. I have no idea of what it does or if Y can eat it. I will be watching this thread carefully. :)
Sylvia
Sylvia, Congratulations on your new lavender! Remember, it HATES wet feet (needs excellent drainage) and LOVES the sun. A lavender grower in Blanco told me once that if you think your lavender needs a drink, wait until tomorrow! And yes, it definately can be eaten. Hill Country Lavender (in Blanco) makes all kinds of goodies; besides usual lavender products, they make cookies, jellies and other things I can't remember right now. They have a web site www.hillcountrylavender.com....I don't know how to do that hyperlink thing. Blanco will be having its 2nd annual Lavender Festival the beginning of June. There are several Lav. farms in the area, two have distilleries on the farm . If you're in the area 'bout that time, its worth the stop!
dogmansis, when you paste in the web address to be used for a hyperlink, just be sure that you leave a space behind it before you type any other puntuation, etc. Here's the link: http://www.hillcountrylavender.com
A friend of mine has a daughter who lives in Kyle, they go to Hill Country lavender as much as possible. Unfortunately it was closed when they tried to take me. Even though it was past the season, it was a beautiful place to see. I hope I can go back some day when it's open.
That's a good rule of thumb to know re watering, thanks!
Another tip ... don't mulch around the plants.
Maggiemoo, The 2nd Annual Lavender Festival will be in the beginning of June ( not positive of the exact weekend). That would be a great time to visit Kyle! Last year's festival was held in May, but we'd had so many cloudy days that the lavender hadn't started to bloom yet. Hopefullly this year willl be better. I volunteered at Hill Country Lav. last year. I'll be volunteering again this year, but don't know yet which farm. SO many people came thru Blanco!! I'm a real people person so I had a great time. I'll be letting the word out on the festival as we get closer to it. There's even a farm called "Longhorns & Lavender"....Sounds so interesting!!
(There was a subtle growing tip in there..."so many cloudy days the lav. hadn't started to bloom yet"....They love the sun!
Oh my! I am going to see what kind of Lavendar I have if it cost 200.00 to go to festival. lol Seriously I hope I saved the label. Somewhere online I saw so many different kinds of Lavendar. btw I have mine in a pot, will it be ok?
Dogmansis, where is Blanco?
Did the wait and see, and the lavender is now greening up nicely. You're right, when it gets warmer at night, lavender starts to perk up again (and they like it on the dry side). This year, I'll do a 50% prune after last of the fall blooms.
My Lavendar is a Provence?
Sylvia
Sylvia, First of all, your lavender would probably be happier in the ground but it can be pot-grown, just be sure it has great drainage and keep it on the dry side, in the sun. Lavender Provence is a very popular lavender here. The owner of Hill Country Lavender is a photog. w/ Nat'l Geo. and he discovered the lav. (in France) growing in very similar conditions to ours. (climate-wise) He and his wife planted several hundred plants and their business has grown considerably. They even distill their own oil! Another lav. farm in Blanco has a smaller still and can give demonstrations on the distilling process, which, unbelievably, I still have not seen!!
Blanco is on Hwy 281, about 40 miles north of San Antonio, and about 40 miles west of Austin. Just the right location for massive growth in a short period of time! I left SA 'cause it was too big, and now its getting too crowded up here! When my "baby" graduates HS in 3 yrs, I guess it will be time to move on to TRY and stay ahead of the crowds!!
Good luck trying to stay ahead of the crowds, they'll keep following you, I'm afraid, lol.
Thanks for the heads up on the lavender festival. Please do be sure to post a thread about it, I want to try to go this year.
My lavenders are all in pots, because we are pretty humid and usually get lots of rain. I place a piece of screen over the drain holes (drains really well while keeping in sand and keeping out the ants) add about an inch or two of sand, then add a mix of good organic and compost-rich soil with sand (so it will drain well), and then those pots are on top of marble chips (again, good drainage.) One of the containers is actually a chimney flu, so the entire bottom is open and it really drains well. These are all grouped together in the sunniest spot of my garden. They are just now almost a year old. I have Goodwin Creek, Gray Form, and Fern Leaf. My Spanish lavender did great last year, then just up and died suddenly. So far Goodwin Creek has worked the best for me - tends to stay good looking, and blooms well - but I need to give it a trim to keep it from getting lanky. I just hate to cut off the blooms!
maggie, my Spanish lavender did theysame thing as yours ... looked great, then withered away rather quickly. I never could figure out why it did this.
I'm not sure but I think there is a lavender festival here in Fredericksburg in the spring. I will find out. I know there is a lavender farm near hear.
Hazel, I wonder if the Spanish lavender was just trying to keep us humble, lol.
:-)
Mary Lee, do be sure to let us know if there is a lavender festival.
Actually, silverfluter, Fredricksburg and Blanco have sort of been at odds over lavender. Both places want to be considered the Lav. Capital of Texas! I think F'burg has had lav. festivals for about 8 yrs and Blanco is just on its 2nd annual. I know F'burg has several lav. farms but I've never been to any of them. I'm more familiar w/ Blanco 'cause that's the closest town to me. Oh no!! The Annual Trash Off day in town is this morning. I wanted to help but by the time I get dressed and into town, they'll be done! oh well....
I will be volunteering at the Lav. Festival and I'll be sure to give details as we get closer to June. I hope the weather works w/ us this year!
Trash Off day? Tell us more...
One day a year, people can bring all kinds of things to the recycle center in town and have them disposed of. These things are usually stuff the garbage men won't pick up, ie:old furniture, appliances, large "junk" items. .. and hazardous materials, like old paint cans, oil cans, etc. The town also will send someone to pick up things that are too bulky or if an elderly person needs some help. Volunteers are used for a variety of things, but mostly to pick up trash that people have dumped ( the little stuff). I became a master gardener last year & we restored a park in town...now its so beautiful!...but a lot of people walk thru the park to get from the town square to the Blanco River and unfortunately, not everybody cares where they drop their paper cups, beer cans, etc. so we try to keep the town looking good. Blanco really is a cute little town and I just love it! All should visit once!!
I've driven through Blanco and Wimberley, will have to go back some time to "stop and smell the roses." :-)
...and the lavender!!!
Lol, yes, definitely the lavender! And I love a good hunt for pictures, and that area is a great hunting spot.
I drove through Blanco on my way to Schumacher's today. Had a very productive day there. It's a very pretty drive now, because of the rain. Not alot of flowers, but atleast the grass is green again.:)
Mary Lee