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Lavender Help

TheScottishGardenerTheScottishGardener Posts: 62
in Plants
I bought a couple of stunning lavender plants in pots a while back now. They were looking good and I decided a few weeks ago to pop them into the ground... they now look dreadful :( lost a lot of colour and haven't really come on very much since going in. I picked a spot I thought they'd be happy in but clearly I am wrong! It's getting the sun for most of the day, from about midday right through until sun down. On the sunny days that is...

So, are they having too much water? It rains a lot here.

Or my conclusion is they don't like the soil they're in, I think it may be too heavy for them, but I'm not confident on how right I am on that. I'm tempted to move them back into pots? Can they be saved? Are they easy to save?

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  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,309
    Can you add a few photos to help us out? You can amend the soil to make it more water permeable and to avoid the roots from being waterlogged. Also if the variety of lavender is an English one aka lavandula angustifolia then you'll have a better chance in keeping it happy in the ground. But they are Mediterranean plants and they appreciate sharp drainage. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • TheScottishGardenerTheScottishGardener Posts: 62
    edited July 2020
    Of course, photos would help.




    So maybe they don't look as bad as I initially made them sound, however, having seen how they looked in pots and comparing to now, they've most definitely declined, when I noticed it the other day just how bad they were looking, I had a closer look in at the base and it doesn't look great?

    I do have a spare bag of sand in my shed. Would it be worth taking them out and mixing some sand in?
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,309
    Do you know the variety? The look like French lavender which is not particularly hardy for when the winter comes. You could work some grit in the soil, sand on its own may create a worse problem if it solidifies. The soil looks quite rich too which is not what lavenders usually prefer, are you blessed with that soil or did you mulch with compost? The other obvious question is whether they get enough sun. They enjoy a good bake and I suppose it depends on the orientation with the fence nearby, if they get it. The plants also look to have lots of soft growth which points to a lot of forcing by the nursery to make them look as appealing as possible, which probably would account for them looking unhappy on the change of circumstances. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • TheScottishGardenerTheScottishGardener Posts: 62
    edited July 2020
    @amancalledgeorge It's a mix of original soil and a little bit of compost from me. Also, they're getting at least 8 hours of sunlight at the moment. In fact I've just looked out now and the sun is already on them and will be now until around 8/9pm tonight.

    @SlipperyElm I've decided to take them out and just repot them into bigger pots with amended soil that they will hopefully prefer. They were so beautiful, I hope I can save them.

    Thanks both for your comments. I've learned a lavender lesson :D
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