If your lavender plant isn’t flowering, don’t leave it growing just yet. These herbaceous perennials are a joy to garden and are really easy to learn How to grow lavender And enjoy your plants for many years to come.
Like all plants though, lavender requires you to understand where it comes from and what it needs to thrive in order to reach full bloom.
Fortunately, the reasons why it’s failing aren’t too hard to fix, and usually, experts say, it comes down to three things — all of which you can easily fix.
1. You’re not pruning it enough
This is almost always the number one reason lavender plants fail to flower.
“Unpruned plants become leggy and woody and lose flowers,” confirms Julien Palframand, head of the plant. British Garden Centres. “A lot of people cut into the wood and kill the whole stem, but you need to cut back on the new growth.
“Trim lightly soon after flowering, removing the upper third of the growth on soft green shoots, never in old wood,” he advises.
Pruning lavender is very easy, and according Monty DonSoon the flowers should begin to fade. Avoid browning them to give them more time for regrowth before winter.
Gardening tools to help you care for your lavender
Amazon
Spear and Jackson 7159kew Kew Gardens Collection
These razor sharp secateurs are perfect for pruning lavender to help it bloom more successfully.
Spear and Jackson
Spear & Jackson 3056kew Kew Gardens Neverband Gift Set
This set of tools is perfect for planting new lavender or if you need to relocate your plant to a new location.
Crystals
Crystals Garden Nailer Seat with Handles and Tool Bag
Turn to your lavender in comfort with this handy kneeling pad and tool bag all-in-one.
Julian Palframond is Head of Plants at British Garden Centres. His expertise lies in horticulture with a passion for fostering a love of plants.
2. You have the wrong soil type
Lavender has specific soil requirements – alkaline, infertile and free-draining. In other words, if you have chalky, loose soil, it’s perfect for lavender. A mistake people often make is adding organic matter or synthetic fertilizers to the soil where they grow their lavender.
“Lavender does not thrive in rich or wet soil,” explains Julien Palframand. “Lavender doesn’t need it, so it won’t produce flowers. Or, if it does, the flowers will be sickly and not fragrant.
“Heavy, clay soils need grit,” he continues, “or use a container with a free-draining mix.”
“I always mix plenty of horticultural grit into a multipurpose peat-free compost when growing lavender in pots,” says Beth Merton, editor of Homebuilding & Renovating. “It helps improve drainage and prevents waterlogging of the soil. The easiest way to get the right balance of compost and grit is to mix the soil with mulch (about 25 percent by volume) before adding compost. Garden plants with him.”
This Melcourt RHS crocus to grit potting It can be used to improve drainage for lavender and also works well for other plants such as alpines, succulents and cacti.
Gardening Express
Lavendula angustifolia Hidcote
This variety of lavender grows just as well in containers as it will in garden borders as long as you have the right type of soil.
3. Your lavender is in the wrong place in the garden
Where you plant your lavender is also integral to its flowering success.
“Lavender handles heat well; in a heatwave, the real threat is not drought but overwatering,” says Julien Palframond. “Think Mediterranean: full sun, excellent drainage and only water when the soil is really dry.”
Lavender needs at least six hours of sunlight a day to produce its fragrant blooms, so the rules are simple, he continues. “Don’t plant it under a tree or in the shade, because it won’t flower. It needs a spot that’s baked with sunlight throughout the day with really good air flow—but not too windy.”
It often works best as a piece Mediterranean garden ideas which usually includes some type of Plant it in a sunny, sheltered location, preferably against a sunny wall or in a garden border where it receives continuous sunlight throughout the day.
Julian Palframand’s final advice? Check the age and type of lavender you are currently growing or considering planting.
“Young plants don’t flower until their second or third year, and some varieties are too fussy for cold, wet UK areas,” he says.
Thinking of using lavender to help zone your garden? Find out what there is to know about using Lavender for the hedgeOr consider how to make it a core feature of yours Cottage garden ideas.
The original version of this article previously appeared on Gardeningetc, a sister website to Homebuilding and Renovating.
