I've had lavender (English) for a couple of years now, planted in a slightly raised bed amended with sand. So far so good.

I keep killing lavenders, and keep trying... The best luck I have had so far is with L. stoechas, about 5 years.

If, like me, you are gardening with clay, then either pots (which I somehow can't do - I usually end up getting the watering messed up and they drown or dry up), or well raised beds, mixing in sharp sand or chicken/turkey grit where you want to put the lavender, and being very careful with the mulch seems to work. Be carful not to over water, and don't site one where the run-off from the drive, etc. will go. Planting it with about an inch of root ball above "ground" will also help, so mulch that with a strong mix of sand or fine gravel with a little soil. As you can gather, drainage is key. They aren't too fond of high humidity, so good air circulation seems to help also. Hope this helps.

I read up on lavenders and determined Hidcote to be the perfect one for the siting I had. First year in it was alive, but boring - then two of four expired. Second year, the remaining two bloomed beautifully .... then died off. While I didn't exactly kill it, like dibbit above, it didn't like me so committed planticide. I won't try lavender again, there are too many other perennials out there begging for a chance !

I have substitued Nepeta for lavender and it does well in our climate.

Thank you so much- I used to live in Marin County in california- You could grow fields of it as well as Rosemary. I see Rosemary doing great here- but no Lavender- now I know why. I love the bit about planticide. i guess i will just have to get brave and try some new stuff- Why push things that aren't well suited to the climate.

I have lots of Spanish Lavender in my garden in Chapel Hill. It does better than any variety that I've tried. Just plant it high and dry, ignore it except for a trim in the fall (or late winter).

I am still trying to find one that will work. There is no substitute for it's fragrance in my opinion although I do love nepeta as well. So far I have had to treat it as an annual here. I plant it early in the spring and it blooms well during most of the summer until it succumbs to the crappy humidity. Can't do without it. Theresa.

Here's a photo of some of my Spanish Lavender -- it's just to the right of my roses in the same bed.

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Greensboro's Saturday paper had an article from a Durham landscaper talking about making "med beds." He mixes gravel, lime and grit into soil making a raised bed, puts in the lavenders, santolinas, dianthus, etc. and mulches with a layer of attractive smaller gravel.

I've found a slope also helps.

GREAT INFO- I WAS GOING TO BUILD SOME RAISED BEDS ANYHOW SO I'LL TRY A BIT OF LAVENDER AND NEPETA. IT IS THE FRAGRANCE FOR ME AS WELL- WISH I COULD SEE WONBYHERWITS PHOTO.... IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE SHOWING UP FOR ME. ANYHOW- I DO APPRECIATE ALL YOUR INPUT
TRISH

The other thing to remember about lavender is that it is one of the plants that does NOT like acid soil - it NEEDS the lime.

oops! sorry. okay, here's 2 pics of the same lavender.

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I've grown both the English and Spanish lavenders successfully in the mountains, Piedmont and coast of NC. There are really just 3 basic, but critical requirements. One is full sun (3 hrs. min. unfiltered - they will, of course grow in less, but won't be as strong or compact).Second, a soil mix that consists of about a third grit, course sand, or gravel finings in a raised bed (I prefer grit or scree bed type medium which has a ph between 6.0 - 7.0).Third, lavenders prefer low nitrogen, but seem to thrive on the micro nutrients and minerals supplied by gravel soils. I give them slow release organic products in light dosages and once established, little if any supplemental water.The humidity of the south makes them shorter lived than some, but enduring enough to recommend without hesitation.

From the GSO News & Record on-line website (tried to look up the article someone referred to, but this was all that was available):
What: "Not Under the Tuscan Sun: Growing Mediterranean Gardens in the Piedmont " a slide show and lecture by Frank Hyman
When: 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 10
Where: UNCG
Cost: $19
Information: (866) 334-CALL. Hyman will make the same presentation at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 at Duke Gardens. Cost is $10. Call (919) 688-1707 or go to www.hr.duke.edu.dukegardens and click on Adult Education. There will be lavender plants for sale at both events.

I would like to know, can Lavendar be divided? I have one that I planted in my rose bed and for two or three years it just sort of stayed the same size and did ok. Last year it went nuts, it got huge gave a tone of blooms and is gigantic. I really need to either move it all together or divide it into a few smaller plants. Which is better and when should I do this.

Thanks,
Susan in Stokes county.

I'm up in the mountains, so it'd be different, but:

Two lavender farms (California and local) told me to plant grosso. Last year I planted grosso and provence. The grosso is really outdoing the provence, even bloomed last year.

Put a non-organic mulch (sand, rocks) around the lavender. It's fun to make presents for folks out of dried lavender.

The link is to a lavender farm here in the mountains.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.mountainfarm.net/

Susandonb, you can't divide lavender, but you can root a stem or take cuttings. Or try to move the whole thing. You should trim it back to the woody parts of the stems in the spring, anyway, so you can keep it slightly smaller, if that is doable for you.

I didn't know I could root a stem, what is the best way to do this? I think I will cut it back and move it also, it is really taking over my rose bed and I think I lost one small rose bush due to it crowding it out.

Also are there any dwarf lavendar varieties? I have read that roses like lavendar and I would like to create a border with Lavendar.

Thanks,
Susan

If you want to root a stem, you have to leave the "mother" plant where it is - clear any mulch away, take a low growing, bendable stem/branch and either pin it to the ground or make a mound of gritty soil and mound it over the stem, putting the mulch back around it. If you mound it, keep it moist, but not soggy. If you pin it, use a strong piece of wire, shaped like a hair-pin - a wire coathanger, cut into 15-18" lengths and bent will do fine. You can anchor it with a rock also. Wait a few months until it grows roots - it will resist a strong tug, with the restraints removed, or dig carefully around and see - then cut it off the main plant and pot it up or plant it where you want it. Lightly scraping the bark and using rooting hormone would make it more certain to root. You can do the same with rosemary, and with most shrubs with limber stems. The benefit is that while it is still attached to the mother plant, it will continue to live, whether it roots or not - an advantage over cuttings.

There are some varieties which would probably stay smaller than this one, although they may not do as well as this one, and I don't remember names right now. If you keep the plant pruned, cutting it back almost to woody growth after it flowers and maybe again in the spring, you should be able to keep it to a height you want. It may be that this particular plant has become too woody and can't be cut back hard - lavender doesn't sprout out well from old wood, only from new, as I recall.

I personally haven't divided lavender, but I've heard "mixed messages" about doing it. Most folks root it from the mother plant per dibbit.

Here's a link to Annie's Lavender Sunshine Farm in Hillsborough for general lavender info. You can also sign up to receive her newsletter which will include good tips, but there will also be marketing of her products.

That said, Annie is very response when it comes to answering lavender questions. I will email her and ask about dividing plants if you like.

Here is a link that might be useful: lavender planting

Great thread, Trisheff, and thanks to all for the tips and links!
Rocktoter, I'm going to plan a visit to Mountain Farm with my daughter in the spring. :)
rosebush

Grosso has worked really well for me. Needs well-drained soil, which I amended my soil with perlite & compost. I also bought 2-year-old plants that had been "hardened off" which I think helped. Also need to plant on "mound" because it needs to drain well.

Thanks for the photos wonbyherwits. your garden is BEautiful!!! What kind of roses are you showing in the photo? i have just moved into a house with zero landscaping and I love what you have done. Very inspiring !! Did you dig all those beds yourself ? i will definitely check out the lecture as well

trisheff:
The roses are just Knock-out shrub roses that bloom from May until November. They are the easiest roses to maintain and reward with lots of color, but nothing to speak of for fragrance.

We built the house in 2005. The roses were actually planted by a landscaper who built the fence and stream. We were too burned out from building at the time!

We have since extended the garden(28 cubic yards of garden soil, mulch, plants to fill it up, etc.) and built an additional patio and dry stream bed ourselves in 2006. I retired in July, so I have time to indulge my weakness for gardening. We still have the backyard and west side of our property to landscape, so I have lots of projects in the future!