How to grow Lavender in a Container and care for it.


Do you want to know how to grow and care for a lavender plant in a pot and end up with marvelous results? If you follow these tips then your plant will thrive!

So how to grow lavender in a container? Here are the most Important things: Select the right variety for your climate, chose a big pot, between 12 and 16 inches width and height, prepare the container for proper drainage, and fertilize your plant properly.

How to Grow Lavender in a Pot

Here are the most Important things to keep in mind when you want to successfully grow lavender in a container.

Selecting the Right Variety

The lavender plant naturally is suited to the warm climates of the Mediterranean or Pacific coasts.

It’s a drought-resistant plant that will persevere in warm and dry climates.

However, there’s still hope of growing it even where climates are cold as long as you create the right growing conditions.

Planting lavender plant in a container offers you the best solution to grow it anywhere. However, you need to select the right variety depending on your area’s climatic conditions.

There’re more than 45 species categories and hundreds of types. As an example, if you live in a place with harsh winters, you can try the dwarf varieties.

Choose an optimum Sized Container

Your chosen lavender plant can grow to a large size of 20-24 inches width and height. It has shallow roots that don’t go deep requiring a large pot, but not a tall one.

An appropriate size is between 12 and 16 inches in diameter.

The other reason for selecting a large container is watering the plant. If you choose a small size, you have to keep on watering; otherwise, it will dry out fast in sunny conditions.

When you are raising the plant from seed you should first use little nursery pots until the plant is strong enough for the bigger final container.

Prepare the Container for Proper Drainage

Lavender plants thrive well if the drainage system is excellent.

It’s recommended you get a pot with several draining holes to facilitate proper drainage.

You can go to the extent of drilling extra holes if the pot comes with few holes.

To improve the drainage system and soil fertility, you can follow the following tips:

  • Proceed to fill your container with an organic mix or well-draining soil to about -way.
  • To the potting mix, you can add one tablespoon of lime
  • At the bottom of the pot, fill with gravel or packing peanuts up-to 1 to 2 inches. Flatten and ensure it doesn’t go through the draining holes
  • To add more fertility to the potting mix and stimulate growth, add dissolved fertilizer over the surface
  • You can also add to the soil mix landscaping pebbles or a small layer of turkey grit

You’re now ready and sure to plant a healthy growing lavender plant.

Transfer from the Seedling Nursery

The smaller pot for initially raising your plant is going to be outgrown by the young plant very soon, and you want to transfer it to your big container.

Just squeeze the bottom to loosen the plant and the dirtball. Tilt the pot and plant it sideways and gently pull making sure to hold the plant base to avoid damage.

If the seedling gets planted on the ground surface, care is required when uprooting. Ensure to pull-out gently and with a sizeable amount of soil ball.

Now that you have removed the plant from its old habitat, you can then proceed to plant it in your new bigger pot.

This will be its final Container for quite some time. This is going to be the Container that has around 12 to 14 inches, that I mentioned before.

Ensure the plant gets to the pot’s center and support it up-to the stem level with dirt.

The roots parts should at least get up to 3 inches below the pot rim. Break the dirtball for some of the roots to get free.

Fill the Pot with Potting Mix

It’s now time to fill up the pot with soil mix up-to and around the plant’s stem and roots meet point.

Spread the soil well at the surface, ensuring to create a bowl-like surface. That ensures efficient water intake.

The soil should stay loose to improve drainage.

Increasing Soil Fertility

The first method of making the soil fertile is to apply fertilizer. Try half a cup of time-release fertilizer and spread it on the potting soil surface.

Ensure the fertilizer gets into the ground by using a fork for example.

The second approach is to mulch your plant with white landscape pebbles or turkey grits.

Make the mulch a 2-inch thick layer covering up to the plant base. It prevents effectively rotting of the stem and roots.

Place the Pot in an appropriate place

The next step after planting is to locate the ideal place to situate your potted plant.

Plants require sunlight for the most part of the day to improve growth and fragrance.

If your area has cold climates, you can adopt other methods of providing appropriate lighting. Like using artificial lighting for example.

How to Care for a Lavender Plant

Now that you have planted your Lavender and it is starting to grow big and healthy let´s have a look at how to actually care for your plant and finally how to harvest it.

Regular Weeding

Weeds by nature grow faster than the plants themselves. They compete highly for the nutrients present in the soil.

Creeping plants also spread, and some can act as pests.

Regularly weeding your potted lavender avails adequate air circulation, sufficient nutrients, and a healthier plant.

Plant Location

When placing your plant outdoors, choose a location where it can enjoy eight good hours of sunshine.

Sunshine improves your lavender plant’s growth and fragrance while shades do the reverse. Concrete surfaces in colder climates amplify the heat received by your lavender.

If your lavender is indoors, make sure to provide it with adequate lighting.

Get it near the south-facing window, transparent roofing sheets, or anyplace with direct sun exposure of four hours and above. Always rotate the pot to create a stable growth.

Prune your Lavender Plant

Pruning your lavender encourages it to sprout and create new growth.

Best pruning tips include:

  • Start preparing for pruning some months before winter comes
  • Use high-quality pruning clippers for a perfect job
  • Cut the stems at around three fingers above the sprouting new stems
  • Prune in yearly periodic intervals to extend the plant life

Watering your Plants

Always apply enough water in the pot as lavender requires much moisture to get healthy.

But, care is essential as too much water may cause rotting.

Applying Fertilizers

The soil mix is porous and hence, doesn’t entirely hold nutrients.

You need to apply liquidized fertilizer as the best product for soil fertility. During winter times, place the plant in a room with moderate temperature.

The room should also get well-ventilated.

Harvesting the Lavender

Lavender harvesting gets ready when the blossoms fully show color.

Harvest the potpourri and sachets by simply cutting its flower spikes or through stripping flowers from the stems.

Keep it in a shaded place to dry.

Lavender is also known to keep spiders and other bugs away, so you can use it to keep them from entering your home by just hanging the lavender in doorways or above windows.

Nathan

I enjoy all things outdoors and I love plants! I've never considered myself to be one with a green thumb, but it's my mission to learn, so I figured I would bring you along for the ride. :) Happy planting!

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