Ok Jody...here we go! :-)
I have had some problems with Lavender in Z5 dying off during the winter.
On any given winter including the recent very mild one I lose about 50%.
I have been using the Augustifolia varieties too which are suppose to be better for growing in Z5.
I read recently that they like a little lime, but have never tried that yet.
Now heres the clincher, I use to have 4 HUGE mounds of Lavender but they died after a few years...sigh :( They seem to die out in the center and then croak.
Should I try mulching them?
Anybody out there have any tips for growing Lavender in Z5?
Growing Lavender
Tomorrow I'll go out and look at mine. I'm in the same zone as you and all three of mine came back (one's about three years old)- I'll check the varieties for you. :)
Two of them are just in our regular old clay soil and the third is in my herb bed that has peat hummus soil in it. They usually get quite a few leaves built up around them b/c we have lots of big oak trees in the backyard and those leaves get EVERYWHERE so maybe that insulates them. Hope this helps a little. :)
Hey there,
I've grown quite a bit of lavender here in the western WA area, and our biggest problem to overcome is all the winter rain we get. Lavender is quite susceptible to crown rot and tends to die out in large sections if it's not in coarse, well drained soil. I've got lots of clay to deal with and have found that planting my lavender in raised beds and terraces gives me the best results.
Do you get lots of rain or heavy wet snow in the winter? Do you think this might be a possibility?
I also prune my lavender pretty heavily - up to half of the grey green growth. I will prune out some of the oldest woody branches too, to try and stimulate newer growth from the crown of the plant.
I hope this helps,
Portia
Portia our soil is well drained...on the sandy side.
Do you prune in the Fall or Spring?
I looked at my tag (only one had a tag) and it's Munstead Dwarf.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/88288/index.html
I think DeBaggio's has some good culture info on Lavenders.... check http://www.debaggioherbs.com/
Well drained soil is a must, and he suggests using a couple inches of pea gravel (or sand) as a mulch. (I did this with my lavender hedge, and it looks happy several years later.) Pruning should be done in spring, preferably just before new growth starts in earnest. Try not to prune when you could still get a hard freeze that could damage newly-cut tips.
Oh wow- a lavender hedge sounds lovely! Any pictures?
Here it is in bloom last spring! The drainage is excellent along the driveway, both because of the slope and because the bed is sitting on a bunch of chunky gravel that they used under the driveway (and halfway across the front yard, LOL). I planted english thymes between the lavender plants, but the lavender is gradually crowding out the thyme, so it just peeks out here & there now.
I just read that lavender is a subshrub and you should not prune it in fall or winter. That is a sure fire way to kill it.
I also put gravel under and around my lavender plants to help with drainage and to keep them extra warm.
Jenniew
Oh wow Critter- that is beautiful!!! I bet the smell is awesome too. :) What variety is that?
hi cottage rose- I do think the older stems can be more likely to go in zone5 winters..you might try rooting some babies now and then- I have had luck with the following methods- when planting,I add some pelletized lime, but especially I put a nice layer of chicken grit under the plant..so that it has excellent drainage. Make sure the plant does not sink into the ground to make a trough that collects moisture around it during the winter- the root-ball from the pot can kind of stick above the soil line a wee bit- or sort of mound up just a tad- then mulch with more chicken grit. like jenniew says, gravel under and over.... when winter starts coming in, cover with pine or spruce boughs- so far, most of mine have lived a good 12 years......
pretty plants, critterologist!
Thanks much for those tips sjms! :)
I am taking note!
So when do you prune lavender. I have a couple of plants that are at least four to five tims larger this year than last year. They bloomed so early (all of our weird weather) that I did not get them trimmed and they are so lovely now, absolutely covered with flowers and the bees that love them, too. Should I trim them right after they are through blooming?
Diane
The book I have says to prune them in the Fall, about 1/3 back.
Tops and sides.
If you prune them in the Spring this will cause them to bloom later.
any time after blooming I think is fine fpr pruning- here in zone 5 I have found that late fall pruning results in more die back....well- there's going to be some die back anyway- so I wait and see how things look in the spring- you know cr, kinda like roses up this way...
I've never had lavender bloom like what we have going on now. I think I'm glad I did not get them trimmed.
I live in zone 5a. I prune my lavenders back in the spring when I start to see green buds forming at the base of the old growth. Then I prune pretty hard. Mine are lavender angustifolia, I think munstead, one called lavender lady, one called Sarah, and a bunch I grew from seed which were in a packet labelled true lavender (a random, impulse purchase). All of mine made it, both those planted close to the house and out in the raised beds too. I was surprised at the raised bed ones making it because I thought the fact that they were raised would make them more exposed to the cold. I have 8 or 10 plants total. They all look great now, big green cushions. I won't expect flowers for a while here in zone 5a, but that's okay. It's only May!
I did prune one or two at my old house in the same zone in the fall and those didn't make it. This could be a sign! Or perhaps a coincidence!
If you prune before green is showing at the base of the plant you will kill them in early spring. I wait till they show a good bit of green at the bottom- I do the same for Teucrium and Perovskia.
I noticed out of the several varieties I have that "Lady" Lavender seems to be doing the best. I once had a HUGE clump of "Fat Spike" but it died one winter.
I forgot to mention, I do prune spent blooms in the fall, but I consider that deadheading rather than "pruning" because I'm not cutting back any of the woody growth.
sorry, forgot to "watch" this thread!
The variety in the picture I posted is 'Fat Spike'. DeBaggio says to prune in early spring, when the plants start coming out of dormancy... seeing green buds is good, but if possible you don't want to wait until you're pruning back several inches of new growth. Fall pruning is probably not a good idea, and pruning/harvesting of any herb I think should stop several weeks before first frost, as cold temperatures can be damaging to newly cut tips.
The American Horticultural Society places Lavandula in pruning group 10, and adds "in early spring, then lightly after flowering".
So IF you want to prune lavender, in early spring the shoots (which flowered last year) should be cut back to within 1/2 to 1 inch of the previous year's growth. Then more new growth will occur and flowers are borne on the current year's new growth. Of course, if you don't prune there will still be new growth and flowers, and the plant will get larger each year, but it may be less floriferous, less shapely, etc. It depends on what you want your plant to look like.
I bought some lavendar last year in nice neat little pots. Have no idea what their name was supposed to be. Those things are turning into man-eaters and they have been blooming full time since late February. They are so pretty. I've decided I want to have more.
Can I root them? In water? In soil?
This book I have on Lavender says to prune in the Fall...about 1/3 back as I recall but many of you say to prune in the Spring.
Conflicting information is always so frustrating for me...its like whose version do I follow??
CR-What I'd always heard was that you prune lavendar and sage in the spring to get rid of the winter kill. These things I have now are all over the place because I could not get them trimmed this spring. We had such a mild winter that nothing had the normal kind of winter kill on it.
Diane
Cottage Rose - I think maybe it depends on your zone. My lavenders (in zone 5a) are a nasty looking grey spikey clump in the spring. If I didn't prune them, the old wood/shoots would not have new growth so I would have lots of new growth from the base that would then get all mixed in with the dead old stuff and it wouldn't look very pleasing. For people who live in zones where they don't get that kind of die-back, maybe they don't need to prune that way because their plants wouldn't look as bad. To me, I do what seems to work best with my plants. If you're not sure, I'd suggest trying both methods. Get a few "test plants" selected. Cut a couple back in the fall, and a couple in the spring. Compare how they survive/grow/flourish and decide what works best for your lavender varieties and your zone. I also think there's a difference between English, French and Spanish lavenders (which are different species) but since you're in zone 5b, I doubt you are overwintering other than English lavenders. If you are, I'd want to know how you manage it! I think they are zone 7 plus only.
I have one with bloom spikes on it now that was a smaller one from last year. My larger ones from the year before are very bushy now but not flowering yet. I have a couple that are not as far along as some, but they were in raised beds and I wonder if they maybe got colder and had more root die-back?
cr- i concur, in the spring- there needs to be a special northern instruction guide- believe me, if you prune in the fall, you'll get winter kill beyond where you pruned- it's a way to almost kill you lavender up this way. wow.. one question, so much controversy!
I'll bet that leaving all the old growth during the winter is like providing a little blanketing for the plant so that it will live. If you do the pruning in the fall, the plant doesn't have that sort of "umbrella" of growth over it that protects the base, thus perhaps leaving it more exposed and likely to die? Just a theory...
What about those stems that look dead on the bottom half and green on the top??
Well, I don't have any of those. If I did, I probably wouldn't be all that fond of the look of them. Maybe if I didn't do any pruning at all I would have some of those? I like my stems that are pretty much all green.
CR, maybe we should all meet at your garden- (right about rose blooming time, I would love to see those roses in person) and come to some final conclusions about lavender! The good news is that if they have any growth at all, they will recover slowly over the summer, and you can trim a little here a little there-
Those brown stems at bottom with green at the top--- I have just whacked them back so we will see.... I think new growth is coming up, but I will check again in a few days!
Does anybody know if you can root cuttings?
I'm stumped and hope I can find some help here. I planted 4 english munstead lavender in a very large flower bed (approx 400 sf) and they are all shriveling and dying. I'm in zone 9 and have grown them before with much success so I can't figure out what's going on. My only thought is that this bed is on a slope so maybe they're getting too much water? It's May here now so the flower bed has to be watered every morning (already hitting 90+ degrees some days). They worked well in the raised herb garden I had but I can't keep them alive now. Any suggestions?
As long as they have good drainage (which the slope should supply unless the soil is just clay), lavenders should be able to handle daily watering. What kind of shape were the plants in when you took them out of the pot? If they were very rootbound and you didn't loosen the root ball, that could cause trouble. Did you harden them off, or did they go from a sheltered nursery greenhouse directly out into full hot sun? It sounds like they're in shock from sun or heat or lack of water rather than getting too much water.... I guess I'm a little stumped too!
Good luck... hope they come around!
they were rootbound. My mother-in-law bought them for planting and then they sat on the deck for ages. I tried to remember to cut the rootball of all of the plants I planted but I planted so many, I may have forgotten a couple. Anyway to bring it back? Is it too late to dig it up and loosen the ball or should I cut it all the way back to the soil or consider it gone? It's my first year gardening and out of the 400 sf, it's the only plant I've lost so far which I guess is good but I hate to see it die. I love my babies out there!! =) Some of my daylily leaves are also yellowing/browning and one of my blue butterfly delphiniums has yellowed and shrank bank. I'm getting ready to superbloom them this weekend and am hoping that may give them a boost. I may also try checking the ph of the soil. I haven't ever done that since this is all very new. Knowing my luck, I planted over 100 flowers, all with different ph and watering needs .
A couple of thoughts. One, my lavender book says they do not like to be in hot, humid conditions. I am imagining that with your temps, plus the daily watering, that probably equates to hot and humid. Maybe in the herb garden you had them in, they had different conditions? Also, I have grown a lot of lavender from seed, and I must say that sometimes when I plant out into full sun, the plants are decidedly unhappy for a couple of months even. Then they do come back in the spring for me, most of the time. I think it's a transition problem. It specifically says that it's important to let the lavender dry out for a few days before re-soaking it again with water. If you're watering every day, that's maybe part of the problem. Despite the slope, especially if there isn't a lot of wind, maybe they are just sitting there in the heat/humidity and developing some rot? I've never lived in a zone like yours so I am not sure how it applies, but my book recommends planting in spring or fall, not in mid-summer. I know it's not mid-summer for you, but because of your zone, it might as well be like Iowa mid-summer! Maybe the plants can't take the sudden heat/watering change. They are supposed to be very drought resistant (mine would attest to that!) and do better (so I read) in poorer soils. So, maybe they need a little less TLC?!
I would dig them up, check the roots, and loosen the root ball a little if needed. You might consider replanting them in a location that gets a little less heat & direct light... maybe they can be moved back to full sun once they recover, or maybe you can find a good spot for them with filtered light or morning light. I'd trim back any really dead looking branches, but I wouldn't cut them down to the soil. You might also try potting them up in roomy containers and putting them in a location that's less bright & hot while they recover. I think lavenders do like a more alkaline soil. DeBaggio's has some great lavender culture info in their catalog, http://www.debaggioherbs.com/
Thanks so much everyone! The other two are finally coming around but I did lose the one . I HATE losing plants...it's like personal failure. I guess out of 400sf, I was bound to lose a few, especially since this is my first real garden. I also lost my red hot pokers . But my daylilies, ruellia, verbena and everything else is going CRAZY!! =)
Remember, a lost plant gives you room to try a new one....