Potted Lavender is grey and lifeless

chris.m.eves

Hello all, I’m having some trouble with some potted Lavender that I was given as a gift. I’ve put them out back in a fairly sunny spot, but they’ve not sprung into life like the Lavender I have in my beds. Rather than green and flowering they’ve become grey and lifeless. I’ve peeled back the bark a little and there is green under there, so they are fighting on. But I’m wondering what I could do to make them thrive?

pansyface

put them in the flowerbed?

Dovefromabove

They look thirsty. 

People think lavenders don’t need much water … in fact they need quite a bit of water … but they need it to drain away quickly so they need free-draining soil/potting medium so that their roots aren’t continually wet. 

 Hopefully the pots have good drainage … if so I would raise the pots up on blocks or pot feet or bits of tile or whatever, then give it a really good soak and let it drain. 

Repeat weekly from mid April to mid September 😊 

MikeOxgreen

I thought lavender was supposed to be grey, dull and lifeless 
It could need repotting, into something bigger or a more suitable compost.
That looks like one of those stupid pots you have to smash to get the plant out when the roots become too big to fit through the smaller neck.

Lyn

I don’t think you’ll get anything out of that plant again,  I would chop it up for the compost bin.
They don’t recover when they’ve got to that stage. 

MikeOxgreen

Dovefromabove said:

They look thirsty. 

People think lavenders don’t need much water … in fact they need quite a bit of water … but they need it to drain away quickly so they need free-draining soil/potting medium so that their roots aren’t continually wet. 

 Hopefully the pots have good drainage … if so I would raise the pots up on blocks or pot feet or bits of tile or whatever, then give it a really good soak and let it drain. 

Repeat weekly from mid April to mid September 😊 

A question for you there: I read Lavender is only good for so many years and after that gets a bit straggly perhaps and needs replacing, do you think that's true?
If it is then that one in the pot looks very old, it has to be to get it up there like that I suppose.

MikeOxgreen

Fun lavender fact for you. People will tell you French lavender won't last outside here in the UK as it's too cold and wet. However here high up on the Pennines where it's pretty inhospitable it positively thrives. Most stuff either dies or gets eaten by something  The reason is it's planted on a really steep well draining bank with very coarse stony soil which helps it survive the elements. Last Winter it was covered in snow and got down to -5, constant winds and it just shrugs it off.

B3

I'm afraid it looks lifeless because it is dead🙁

Slow-worm

Peel off a tiny strip of bark and see if there's healthy wood underneath, if so, chop them back, get them out the pots and see what the roots are like. If the roots aren't dead, soak them in a bucket for a hour, plant them in new soil or the ground, water them well. 
I recently moved one which was looking sad, it didn't look at all well for a few weeks, but then it started getting new leaves. 

Fairygirl

Anything in a pot needs water, regardless of it's preferences [apart from things like succulents ] and it's often slightly misunderstood about Mediterranean plants, because people equate their liking for sunny dry conditions and poor soil as not needing to have any moisture. While they can certainly manage in the ground with those conditions once established, it's not the same as being potted. In the ground, they can reach enough moisture to thrive, but in a pot, they're completely dependent on you for their health. As @Dovefromabove says - they actually do better if they get lots of moisture, because they stay greener and more lush, but they need really good drainage so that the roots don't get waterlogged. 
If you can soak it totally, so that it's properly rehydrated, then make sure it doesn't get completely dried out through summer, it may come away again. Keep it out of full sun too - and any strong wind to prevent it drying out too quickly, and that should also help it recover - if there's still life in it at all. Terracotta also soaks up moisture, so it's even more important to keep an eye on the watering.
Then cross your fingers. You might be lucky. 

AuntyRach

I’d do some first aid on it: a good soaking, drain, fresh compost, good soaking with feed, drain and maybe trim a few bits away. 

If it doesn’t start producing green bits in the next few weeks, I’d call it a day.