How to Grow Lavender: Potted Care Methods and Precautions for a Home Balcony

Lavender is a plant that combines ornamental value, edibility and beauty care all in one. In recent years it has become increasingly popular in our country, and it is deeply loved by a great many consumers. Many people like to buy some and take it home to grow, but they are not very clear about the specific cultivation methods.

How to grow potted lavender at home

1. Choosing a container for sowing lavender. For sowing lavender at home, you can use a relatively small flower pot, or you can substitute other containers. For example, a yogurt cup, with a few small holes pierced in the bottom with an awl. A disposable plastic cup also works, but because it is transparent, it is best to wrap the outside with black paper or slip it into a paper cup (if the plant's roots are exposed to sunlight, growth will be affected, and the soil will easily grow green moss).

2. Lavender's requirements for soil. Lavender seeds are relatively small and the germination rate is low, so the soil used for sowing generally needs to be loose, breathable, high in water-holding capacity, and thoroughly sterilized. A mixed soil of vermiculite, peat, sphagnum moss, perlite, osmund fiber, etc. can be used. If conditions allow, you can also mix your own.

3. Lavender does not like water to remain around its roots constantly. After one thorough watering, you should wait until the soil is dry before watering again, judging by the surface growing medium being dry and the interior moist, and by the leaves being slightly wilted.

Lavender's requirements for sunlight.

Methods for growing potted lavender on a balcony

1. Soil: Lavender is suited to slightly alkaline or neutral sandy soil. You can use a mix of 1/3 perlite, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 peat moss. If growing in open ground, pay attention to soil drainage; you can pile the soil up into raised beds before planting.

2. Watering: Lavender does not like water to remain around its roots constantly. After one thorough watering, you should wait until the soil is dry before watering again. Water in the morning, avoiding sunlight, and do not splash water on the leaves or flowers, otherwise they will easily rot and breed pests and diseases.

3. Light: Lavender needs plenty of sunlight and a suitably moist environment. In summer, at least 50% of the sunlight should be blocked and ventilation increased to lower the ambient temperature. In winter, lavender grows well on flat ground, and it should be grown in full sun.

4. Temperature: Lavender is semi-heat-tolerant and prefers coolness; it likes warm winters and cool summers. The suitable growing temperature is 15-25°C, and it can grow at 5-30°C. If it is above 38-40°C for a long time, the top stems and leaves turn yellow and dry up. In the north, when the temperature stays below 0°C for a long time in winter, it begins to go dormant.

5. Fertilizing: For fertilizing lavender, bone meal can be placed in the potting soil as a base fertilizer (use once every three months). For young seedlings, Hyponex No. 2 can be applied, and after the plant matures, apply a fertilizer higher in phosphorus, such as Hyponex No. 3.

6. Shaping: After lavender blooms, cut it back at the first node below the flower, and at the same time trim the plant into a hemispherical shape. At ordinary times, cut off dry and withered branches at any time. In order to control plant height or obtain a better plant shape, prune back moderately in late summer and early autumn to encourage new branches.

Precautions for growing potted lavender on a balcony

Lavender cannot endure heat and humidity. If it is waterlogged for a long time, the roots rot and it dies. When planting outdoors, be careful not to let rain fall directly on the plant. After May, it needs to be moved to a place where sunlight cannot shine directly, and ventilation should be increased to lower the ambient temperature and keep it cool, so that it can safely get through the hot summer. Pay attention to sunlight, moisture, temperature and patience.

Lavender's propagation methods

1. Seed propagation: Lavender seeds are small, so it is best to raise seedlings and then transplant. The sowing period is generally chosen in spring. In warm regions it can be done from March to June or from September to November each year. In cold regions, it is best to sow from April to June, and sowing in a greenhouse in winter is also possible. The germination period is about 14-21 days. The suitable germination temperature is 18-24°C.

2. Cutting propagation: Cuttings are generally taken in spring and autumn. Softwood cuttings in summer are also possible. The cutting medium can be 2/3 coarse sand mixed with 1/3 peat moss. Choose healthy, robust plants of a good variety, and select the terminal bud of a one-year-old semi-lignified branch with short, thick internodes that has not yet headed. Cut the cutting at 8-10cm from the tip.

The method of growing potted lavender is relatively easy. First choose a good container, then prepare the soil mix, and finally start growing. During cultivation, water and fertilizer management must be strengthened at all times. Lavender should not be exposed to direct sunlight in summer, so shading treatment is necessary.