Growing a lavender plant will not only make your garden, patio, or window ledge look beautiful, but it has pleasing aroma everyone seems to enjoy
Successfully growing a lavender plant will depend upon the kind of growing conditions that can be provided for the plant and which variety you choose to grow. Many growing conditions will be tolerated by lavender plants; however, it does thrive in warm, well-drained soil and full sun.
As with many plants that are grown for their essential oils, a lean soil will encourage a higher concentration of oils. The fragrance of lavender will be enhanced when using an alkaline or chalky soil. Lavender is an exceptionally tough plant, and once it has established itself, it is extremely drought resistant.
However, when you first begin to plant lavenders, do not be afraid to place a handful of compost in the planting hole and ensure that they are regularly watered during their initial growing season. Some of the special considerations when successfully growing lavender are that it is dampness, more than cold, that kills lavender plants. Dampness can come from high humidity in the summer or from wet roots during the winter. If humidity is a problem, then ensure that there is sufficient room between your plants to allow for air flow, and always plant in a sunny location. Protect your plants from harsh winter winds. For example, planting next to a stone or a brick wall will provide additional heat and protection. 
Even though the lavender is regularly pruned by them naturally harvesting the flowers, a touch of spring pruning will benefit them in order to keep them well shaped and to encourage new growth. The taller varieties of lavender plants can be cut back by approximately one-third of their height. If you reside in an area where lavender suffers some winter die-back, ensure that you do not prune until you notice some new green growth at the base of the plant. If the plant is disturbed to early, they will give up altogether.In order to successfully grow lavender, it can be planted into pots which will enable you to move the plant in order to follow the sun and even bring it indoors during the winter. It is important to remember that even though lavender does have a large spreading root system, it does prefer to grow in a tight spot. A pot that is large enough to house the rootball with a couple of inches to spare would be a good choice. Ensure that whatever type of pot you select to place your lavender in it has sufficient drainage. It is advisable to place approximately one an inch of loose gravel at the base of the pot to prevent water pooling in the pot. Use a mix that is loose and soilless for planting your lavender plant and remember that lavender that is grown in a container will require more water than garden grown plants. The quantity of water will depend upon the plants environment as well as the type of pot that it is planted in. It is important to water lavender when the soil, not the plant, appears to be dry, and always water at the base of the plant to limit the dampness on the foliage. Lavender is the most delightful plant which is beautiful and aromatic. Successfully growing lavender will not only make your garden, patio, or window ledge look beautiful, but it will also give you great benefits as it is in actual fact edible. It can be used raw in salads, added to stews and soups, used as a seasoning, used in baking cakes and cookies, and even brewed in tea. Want to get the nitty gritty on how plants grow? Grab a FREE copy of our just released book “How do plants grow.” Just leave your information in the block below. Your e-mail is safe which means it is never sold or rented. In addition, you won’t be bombarded with a daily sales pitch or unwelcome, irritating Spam. You may unsubscribe at any time. No hard feeling. We still can be friends.
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