very slow lavender

Stephanie newish gardener

The lavender in the pic is 12 months old. Should it really be bigger by now?  

I got the plants as plug plants and put them in the trough just to get them planted, thinking I would need to put them into something bigger before long.

I also planted some in a border and they are equally slow growing.

Am I expecting too much and/or is there something I can do to spur them on a bit? I had high hopes of a lovely lavender hedge, or at the very least a few nice bushes at the front of a border but at this rate I'll be waiting a long time.

I wondered about nipping the tops out....any thoughts?

Thanks

Fairygirl

Plugs of anything are best potted on into individual pots Stephanie. Were they in those tea bag things? If so, remove them - they prevent roots getting out properly, despite what the makers would have you believe.

I'd take those out and separate them, then repot into small pots. I'm afraid woody shrubs take longer to grow on than softer perennials. Repot those when the roots are showing from the bottom of the pots. When they're big enough to fill a five or six inch pot, they'll be a better size for planting out.

Stephanie newish gardener

They weren't in tea bags (great description!) but I hadn't thought about giving them just their own space and no more

At the moment they do seem to be producing a few new shoots but I am generally disappointed.  Happy to give it a go in individual pots though.  Come to think of it, one of them is still in a small pot though I don't think it is any bigger than the others.  Will do a compare and contrast....