Drooping New Lavender Plants

18 years ago

Hi, all,

We have been landscaping our vacant backyard and digging up our rather rocky red clay/sand soil here in Phoenix, amending with rich organic matter as we go (guano, kelp, blood/bone meal, microbes, etc). We bought Bush Morning Glory, Orange Jubilee, Rosemary, Ruellia, and Hardenbergia (lilac vine), and a Lavender called "Bella" (lavandula stoechas 'bella' PVR). ALL is doing beautifully after a week except the lavender. Even the one STILL in the nursery pot waiting to be planted is drooping, as are the ones in-ground. What gives? We've been watering everyday (it's very dry here) and today I thought I'd give the lavender babies a bit of transplant juice to see if they perk up.

I thought about dead-heading them just to take some stress off of them, but they shouldn't be behaving like this here.

Is it the type or are we doing something wrong? Many of our neighbors have had much success with this lavender here, so we don't understand.

Thanks for your help in advance.

Liebling

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Comments (3)

Daisyduckworth
18 years ago
You don't say how long your plants have been in the ground, but some stay in transplant shock for a couple of weeks or longer. Lavender is one of them.

Lavender, especially the weedy L. stoechas, really prefers a very ordinary soil - poor, in fact. The soil you've created sounds very rich - it may be overfed. Also, although baby lavenders can handle a fair amount of water, as long as it can drain away quickly, every-day watering sounds a bit much for it. Leave it well alone. Most lavenders which die young, do it through being killed with kindness.

I don't know your climate, but I gather it's probably fairly hot? In that case, your babies might need some sun-protection. Plant something else nearby temporarily, or put a large stone near it so that some shade is created for the hottest hours of the day. As the plants mature, they can handle more and more sun, but ALL babies need protection.

Have you mulched around the area? If not, do so. Not only will it help to improve the soil condition over time as it breaks down, it will keep the surface of the soil cooler, protecting the roots, and it will help slow down the weeds, and slow down water evaporation, conserving water. I use sugar-cane straw, but you can use other organic materials as well, as long as they're well and truly dead (green mulch gets HOT). Make sure the mulch does not touch the plant stems. Note, too, that one good, deep watering once a week is better for the plants than a light watering every day. In very hot, dry areas, you'll probably need to water every 2-3 days or so. You'll soon learn how much is needed. The important thing is DRAINAGE, and the mulch will help with that.
ksrogers
18 years ago
I was recently at Lowes and found a gallon jug of transplant fertilizer on sale, as it had a slight leak in the cover. I have used ths product before for difficult transplants and its worked very well. Its made by GreenLight, and is syrupy and contains some vitamins to help transplanted roots get established quicker.
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celeste
18 years ago
It is so hard to not kill lavender with kindness, but believe all these people when they tell you it really does like poor soil and must have good drainage. Sooo hard to just let it be, but best results happen when you do.