How do you care for the latest potted lavender?

Lavender, also known as lingxiangcao, xiangcao, huangxiangcao, etc., is a small shrub plant of the genus Lavandula in the mint family. Its leaf shape and flower color are elegant and refined, and its blue-purple inflorescences are long and beautiful. It is often used as a new perennial cold-hardy flower in courtyards, suitable for clump planting or row planting in flower borders, and can also be grown in pots for ornamental purposes. Now let's take a look at how to care for potted lavender!

Lavender's growth habits

Lavender has very strong adaptability. Adult plants tolerate both low and high temperatures, and during the harvest season they can withstand high temperatures of around 40°C, while seedlings can tolerate low temperatures of -10°C. It is a plant that likes dryness and does not need much water. It needs more water during the greening stage and bud stage, less water during the flowering stage, and an appropriate amount of water during the seed-setting stage. It is a long-day plant and requires sufficient sunlight during its growth and development period, with an annual sunshine requirement of more than 2000 hours. Its root system is well developed, and it likes deep, loose, well-aerated, fertile soil rich in silicon and calcium.

Lavender's propagation methods

1. Sowing: The sowing period for lavender is generally chosen in spring. In warm regions, it can be carried out from March to June or from September to November each year. In cold regions, it is best to sow from April to June, and it can also be sown in a greenhouse in winter. Germination takes about 14 to 21 days, and the suitable germination temperature is 18 to 24°C. After germination, appropriate light is needed; weak light easily causes leggy growth.

2. Cuttings: Lavender cuttings are generally taken in spring and autumn, and softwood cuttings in summer are also possible. The cutting medium can be 2/3 coarse sand mixed with 1/3 peat moss. Under conditions of good drainage, maintained moisture, and a bed temperature of 20 to 24°C, roots form in about 40 days. Do not use terminal buds that have already produced inflorescences for cuttings, because flowering branches have already aged, which will lead to poor rooting and affect future growth.

3. Division: Lavender division propagation can be carried out in both spring and autumn. Use 3- to 4-year-old plants, and in spring from March to April, divide the old roots of mature plants so that each division has a bud eye.

How do you care for potted lavender?

1. Soil: Lavender is suitable for slightly alkaline or neutral sandy soil. Special attention must be paid to choosing a well-drained medium. You can use 1/3 perlite, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 peat moss mixed together. If cultivating in open ground, pay attention to soil drainage, and you can pile the soil up into raised beds before planting.

2. Watering: Lavender does not like water to remain around its roots for long. After one thorough watering, water again only when the soil has dried, aiming for the surface growing medium to be dry and the interior to be moist, mainly indicated by slight wilting of the leaves. Water in the morning, avoid sunlight, and do not splash water on the leaves and flowers, otherwise they are prone to rot and pest and disease problems. A continuously humid environment will prevent the roots from getting enough air to breathe, leading to poor growth or even sudden death of the whole plant.

3. Light: Lavender is a full-sun plant and needs plenty of sunlight and a suitably humid environment. A full-sun environment is better, though it can also grow in half sun, only with fewer flowers. In summer, at least 50% of sunlight should be shaded off, and ventilation should be increased to lower the ambient temperature. In this way, although growth will be weaker, the plant will not die. In winter, lavender can grow well on flat ground and should be cultivated under full sun.

4. Temperature: Lavender is semi-heat-tolerant, prefers coolness, and likes warm winters and cool summers. The suitable growth temperature is 15 to 25°C, and it can grow at 5 to 30°C. The limiting temperature is above 35°C, and if it remains above 38 to 40°C for a long time, the top stems and leaves turn yellow and dry. In northern winters, when the temperature remains below 0°C for a long time, it begins dormancy, and during dormancy mature plants can tolerate low temperatures of -20 to -25°C.

5. Fertilizing: For fertilizing lavender, bone meal can be placed in the potting soil as a base fertilizer (once every three months). Seedlings can be given Hyponex No. 2 (20——20——20), and after they become mature plants, fertilizers higher in phosphorus such as Hyponex No. 3 (10-30-20) can be applied. Apply dilute fertilizer. Lavender should not be fertilized too much, otherwise its fragrance will become weaker.

6. Pruning: After lavender finishes flowering, it must be pruned. The plant can be pruned to 2/3 of its original size, which will make the plant shape more compact and benefit growth. Pruning should be done in cool seasons such as spring and autumn. Generally, prune in spring; pruning in autumn will affect cold hardiness. When pruning, be careful not to cut into the woody part, so as to avoid weakening or death of the plant.

7. Pests and diseases: For lavender leaf spot disease, spray Bordeaux mixture at 1:200 for 2 to 3 preventive treatments, or use zineb at 500 to 800 times dilution. For root rot and Fusarium wilt, use 50% carbendazim at 500 times dilution or 50% thiophanate-methyl at 400 times dilution as a root drench or foliar spray. For red spider mites, use 1.8% abamectin diluted 600 to 1000 times, or dicofol, etc., as a foliar spray. For leafhoppers and flea beetles, use 50% phoxim emulsifiable concentrate, 50% fenitrothion emulsifiable concentrate, 12% miechongguan emulsifiable concentrate, and other pyrethroid pesticides for control.