Drooping lavender - Ask Extension
I have four large lavender plants that their flowers droop then die. This is their 3rd year in my yard. Year one was normal, but they were planted in ...
Knowledgebase
Drooping lavender #644059
Asked June 01, 2020, 1:24 AM EDT
I have four large lavender plants that their flowers droop then die. This is their 3rd year in my yard. Year one was normal, but they were planted in June and did fine. Year two they drooped, so I watered them thinking they needed more. This year they're drooping and I haven't been watering beyond what rain they get. They are on the south side of the house and get sun all day. I don't know what soil prep was done as they were planted by a landscaper. I'm assuming they used a soil blend and topped it with hemlock mulch afterwards. I have not fertilized the plants. Also, one of them grew back with two large dead sections this year, but seemed healthy last fall. I did prune them last year, but maybe not enough.
Help. We and lovethe bees love them. Should I consider digging them up and adding some sand to the soil?
Washington County Oregon
Expert Response
Thank you for including a image. The lavender appears to be very leggy, as if receiving excess water and/or growing in too much shade.
Please send at least 2 more images:
1.) An entire plant.
2.) The lavender and their surroundings.
I look forward to receiving your images.
I just took these at 4 on today. They were all in full sun by 9 am and have been that way. Now, they may get more shade in winter and spring due to the sun sitting lower in the sky and the neighbor's large evergreen.
Thank you for the additional images. I'm surprised by their appearance especially if you don't water or fertilize them. (They don't need either here in the northern Willamette Valley.)
Just happened to think.
Do you know which lavender it is? Some become huge while other are a more modest size. If that's the case, you can either stop fretting, or swap them out for a smaller cultivar.
As for winter losses, that's pretty normal for our region as lavender is on the edge of its hardiness zone here.
I don't know the variety since a landscaper planted them for us, just that they're some kind of English lavender. They're the biggest bushes I've ever seen, probably close to three feet tall. They were maybe two feet big when we got them - large, but they've grown and seem healthy as a whole.
I saw on some site where someone recommends doing a spring pruning and trimming the new growth to just below the first set of leaves - I think that was in March or once new growth was about 6 inches. Then doing the "traditional" late summer pruning to a couple inches above the wood. I've never done this spring pruning, should I try that next year? Would adding sand or gravel to the soil help at all?
Thank you!
I saw on some site where someone recommends doing a spring pruning and trimming the new growth to just below the first set of leaves - I think that was in March or once new growth was about 6 inches. Then doing the "traditional" late summer pruning to a couple inches above the wood. I've never done this spring pruning, should I try that next year? Would adding sand or gravel to the soil help at all?
Thank you!
Adding sand or gravel won't help.
I think your lavender are the kind that become huge. If you think they're too large for the area, replace them.
Lavender are traditionally pruned just after they bloom. Then, they're cut just several leaves below the flower stem. If you cut them back into hard or leafless wood, that stem/branch is unlikely to grow again.
