Hello All....!
I have 2 pots of Spanish "Madrid" Blue Lavender, one of them just got transplanted to a bigger pot because it was wilting in the smaller pot, so I thought it needed a bigger pot since it's getting big. A few hours after transplanting and watering, it went back to normal, all straight and looked happy, but not for long, the next day it wilted again, so watered it again, went somewhat better, but not like the day before, and today it is wilting so bad, like it doesn't want to live anymore. The pot has good drainage. What do you think causes this? Why is it so tempramental? The other one is just happy in its smaller pot. I live in Northern California, I believe in zone 8. The weather here within this past few days have been sunny but cool, and a little windy. What do you suggest? Please help. Thanks!!
Newbie here Question about wilting lavender
When the plant looks wilted, if you stick your finger down into the pot is the soil wet or dry? Sometimes it is hard to get fresh potting mix to wet down properly, and if the mix is not staying moist then the plant is not getting water. If the pot is drying out too quickly, you can use a bigger pot, or add polymer moisture crystals to the potting mix, and/or put a mulch of pea gravel (small stones) on the surface of the potting mix.
How big a plant (height and diameter please) are we talking about, and do the roots seem healthy and in proportion to the top? And how large is the pot you have it in?
Another possibility... since you mentioned wind, maybe your plant is having trouble acclimating, especially if it's a new purchase & hasn't been hardened off. I would put it in a spot that's a little sheltered from both sun & wind until you get it looking happy.
So, can anybody suggest anything?
Sorry if it's such a dumb question.
Thanks again.
Thanks for replying, Critterologist. We must've posted at the same time.
I checked the soil a few times today, it's moist.
The plant is about 12 inches high, 5 inches diameter, pretty bushy, was very healthy looking when I bought them a week ago. It was in a 4 inch nursery container, and when I unpotted it, the soil ball looks very healthy. I moved it to a 10 inch terracotta pot.
I must mention that I might have disturbed the root ball in the process, but I'm not sure if it's the cause of it's wilting. The root seems very potbound, so before I repotted it I kind scratched/pulled the bottom of the root ball, but very little bit though. I did this to some other plants that I bought that have a potbound root, and they are doing fine.
The lavender looks pretty bad at the moment, all flattened looking. I hope it'll recover.
Any other suggestions or comments would definitely be appreciated.
It sounds like your pot and soil are just fine. It might be that you disturbed enough of the fine roots that the plant is now having trouble taking up enough water. ?? Certainly the root ball needed to be loosened since it was so potbound, but it might need a little extra TLC while it grows some new little roots. I would suggest pruning the top back by as much as 1/3 so there is less foliage for the roots to support. Keeping it out of direct sun and wind will also help keep moisture in the stems & leaves.
Good luck!
Rootbound and transplant shock! Poor thing. My new lavender did the same thing. I agree with critterologist. Shelter it, then let it be. Lavender is a tough plant. It took about a week for it to start looking perky and happy about things. In my experience, lavender are roses have the same picky trait in common, they don't like sitting in water (or as my mom would put it, they don't like their feet wet). Maybe back up on the watering. Let it dry out between waterings.
But it is so hard not to water a wilting plant...hahaha...WILL do my best to point the water hose elsewhere, and trim it back.
If there's a chance for this plant to survive, how long do I wait before finally pronounce it dead? I mean let say if it remained wilted within the next 2 weeks, I should just give up on it, right?
I never had any plants wilting for more than a couple of hours, so I really have no experience in this area. Can a badly wilting plant actually come back looking perky and happy again?
Sorry for the endless questions....
I wouldn't give up on it unless it turns all crispy and brown! And even then, I'd give it a week, LOL. Yes, this plant can come around and look perfect again for you.
Good luck!
Thanks for all your suggestions, they help a lot :)
When I grew lavender from seed last year, when I first moved it from being under the plant lights to being outside, it did exactly the same thing. I think they have a little trouble adjusting. Mine wilted for about 6 weeks before it started to get perky again. It then put on some new growth. This year, it is a big green cushion and looks fabulous. I think you should give it time before you give up. As has been said, lavender seems to be a pretty tough plant. That said, my book on lavender also agrees that they suffer from overwatering with root rot, so keep the hose pointed elsewhere for a bit!
I managed to point the hose to some other place today. LOL.
The plant doesn't look so flattened as yesterday, but still in the wilting zone. So, I will wait since it seems to want to stay alive.
Even if you think it's dead ... *don't* give up on it! I pushed one back that I had completely given up on only to pull the container out this spring thinking I'd plant something in it ... when to my surprise there was some lavender rambling around in the pot. It didn't cotton to all my fussing over it. :) I too have trouble not watering a plant. I've also found that lavender doesn't like her leaves to be wet. I only water the soil ... never mist it like I do some of my other herbs. It's *hard* to grow here in the south.
~Elaine~
Hello.. I hope this is not too late but I suspect your lavender has a root rot condition caused by soil fungus, or possibly fungus knat larvae eating the fine roots. Lavenders are very susceptible to this type of thing which is the reason people say they don't like to ahve their feet wet. What happens is the very fine roots are damaged or killed and the plant is unable to uptake water and transpire normally.
Adding more water only exacerbates the problem. I'm sorry to say this but 9 times out of ten if you see this happening it's too late to save the plant. Within a period of time it will circum and die. It's particularly a problem with plants like lavender in potting mixes based on pine bark, because they are havens for pathogenic soil fungi. A mix based on coarse sand, shell grit and peat or cocopeat is far more suitable for lavenders.
My suggestion would be to do what critterologist said. Give it time and then wait longer. They can be amazingly strong plants. If it looks dead, push it into a corner someplace and see what happens by next spring. I had that same experience and ended up with a very pretty plant the next spring.
Thanks for all your suggestions, all of them are really helpfull.
I unpotted the plant to inspect the roots, but I'm not sure if I was looking at a root rot, so I repotted it again, trimmed it, and moved it to a corner that I don't visit too often so I won't see it and be tempted to water it.
I wish someone could tell me how root rot looks like. I used a pretty good potting mix though, so I don't think that's the problem.
Should I trim it all the way down? Right now I had it trimmed about half the size it used to be.
I'm really trying to save this one because it's hard to find this type of lavender around here, and I was so happy when I found them but now one seems *dead* and the place that I bought it from had ran out of it.
Thanks again!
If the plant has root rot, the roots won't look healthy... they might be brown, spindly, fragile, even mushy.
Trimming by half sounds about right. Hopefully the remaining foliage will start showing less wilting.
If you're still seeing wilting after a few days in the sheltered corner, you might consider increasing the humidity around the plant the way you'd do with a cutting... if you have a translucent or clear container (like a plastic milk jug) that fits over the plant without touching the foliage, that will work if you punch a few holes in it (you want a little ventillation). Otherwise, you can do the same thing with a plastic bag, punch a few holes in it, and put some sticks around the plant so the plastic is tented up & over without touching the foliage. But just getting it out of direct sun and wind should help a lot, too.