No. This is not a good idea. You have effectively set your lavender up to fail in several ways.

First, the rocks in the bottom for drainage is a myth -- it actually impedes drainage and is equivalent to using a smaller pot.

Second, garden soil is made for gardens, not containers. The soil bag doesn't just state this as a joke. It is far too heavy for containers. It is going to retain a ton of water, which again is the enemy of lavender. It is also going to compact and not provide proper aeration for the roots. Garden soil is meant to be mixed in with your existing soil to create a healthy planting medium for in-ground plants.

Third, perlite does not improve drainage -- it retains water. This is not what you want with lavender. You want the most sharply draining soil possible.

I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but just about everything you did is going to make your lavender more likely to perish. You want to get a very well draining gravelly soil such as cactus/succulent soil that preferably is a bit alkaline.

Lavender will do just fine in clay unless it is poorly drained (meaning water doesn't leave a 1ftX1ft hole in over an hour). Clay soil is not necessarily poorly drained. I can understand about wanting to get it established before planting in the ground, but it should be fine if you use some soil conditioner and gravel. If your soil is poorly drained, getting it established in a pot isn't going to make it more likely to survive poor drainage. They can't deal with waterlogged soil, especially in winter.

This post was edited by mistascott on Tue, May 14, 13 at 20:45

Eep! Sounds like I have some repotting to do tomorrow! I'll pick up a bag of cactus soil tomorrow if they have some. If not, will regular potting soil be okay? Hopefully it'll be okay until tomorrow afternoon.

Usually I do a bit of research before hand, but it was a spur of the moment buy, and I just went off what the nursery lady told me. I'm so glad I asked instead of taking her word at it.

Just get plain old potting soil and maybe add a little sand but that is it. Lavender does not like to be cuddle, likes it a little dry in the sun and NO fertilizer. Better yet find a sunny spot in your garden and just plant it.

Has anyone ever killed a Munstead?

I have one planted in what is basically a spoil heap of silt & rubble.

Lavender is tougher than people give it credit for. It also hates wet feet. I have several plants that are 3-4years old. They were originally planted at my old house then I allowed weeds to take over the garden they were in because we had a TON of mosquitos that year and I couldn't stand being outside (these are simply EVIL, people comment on them, they are very painful when they bite). We had clay there. Two years ago we moved them to the Cottage before we even closed on it (long story, but we had permission to be there) and just planted them wherever. They loved life there and grew like crazy. Then last year I actually created beds since we officially owned the place and moved them again. They are all still there, and some new ones doubled in size since I planted them last summer. I have clay here too, and I didn't amend the soil at all, just tilled it up and planted. I say pick a sunny spot and plant that lavender!

Eclectic - that's so good to know!! Truly, I'm more worried about my husbands mower!! :p I want to someday line my driveway with it though! I got some of the cactus potting mix, since it wasn't too expensive, so ill repot it tomorrow.

The garden soil/perlite mix actually dried out pretty well and wasn't soggy, but ill swap it out any ways and use the garden soil for the irises I want to put in the ground.

Just a clarification......perlite DOES assist with drainage. That's why it is a standard feature of many potting soils, including cactus mix. It is an expanded volcanic rock - nothing there to retain water but plenty of texture and porosity to provide aeration.

It is vermiculite one needs to be cautious with, especially in container soils. It does absorb water (to more than 300% of its weight) and once fully saturated, collapses, compromising both drainage and aeration.

Thanks for clarifying, gardengal48. I had confused the two, apparently. Also explains why I see perlite in cactus mix.