Only fertilize lavender carefully

Only fertilize lavender carefully

Prepare the soil before planting

In order for the lavender to thrive in your garden, it needs the conditions known from home. In addition to a sunny location, this also includes a well-drained, preferably sandy soil. The plant also grows well on stony surfaces, which is why seedlings can often be found in the cracks between paving stones. Heavy, loamy soils are not suitable for planting with lavender and should be improved according to requirements beforehand. If you have such a garden soil, you can loosen it up with plenty of sand, expanded clay, (€ 17.50 at Amazon *) brick split and the like. This is particularly important for the drainage of rainwater, because lavender does not like waterlogging. The Mediterranean plant, which prefers an alkaline pH value, also does not get acidic soils.But these substrates, too, can usually be improved with primary rock flour or clay powder. You can also work a little compost or manure as well as lime into the soil before planting - unless you want to plant poppy lavender, then you do without the lime.

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Only fertilize planted lavender once a year

Lavender planted in the garden generally needs to be fertilized a maximum of once or twice a year. The broadly fanning out and very deep roots of the lavender extract sufficient nutrients from the earth. Fertilize the garden lavender at the beginning of the growing season - i.e. in March / April - with a little lime and a low-nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen - which is also found in manure, guano (10.44 € at Amazon *) and many commercially available flower fertilizers - only promotes the blinding of the plant and should therefore be used as sparingly as possible. You should also avoid mulch material such as bark mulch, as this stores too much moisture. On the other hand, you can keep rampant weeds at bay by placing the lavender in a gravel bed.

Potted lavender needs more intensive care

In contrast to garden lavender, potted lavender requires a little more intensive care, which also includes more frequent watering (in principle, planted lavender does not have to be watered at all) and occasional fertilizers. But even here you do not have to fertilize every two weeks, because one application at the beginning of the growing season and another in June / July is usually sufficient. In addition, potted lavender should be transplanted in fresh substrate and in a larger container at least once a year so that the plant has enough space. Lavender that is penned up in a pot that is too small often does not bloom or only blooms poorly.

Tips & Tricks

The roots of the lavender need space and a lot of air. Keep the soil loose around the plant and weed in time. You can also spread pebbles or shell limestone on the ground - just not with the potted lavender, this does not tolerate lime.

IJA