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French Lavender issue...

big.stevobig.stevo Posts: 7
in Problem solving
Hi all...we have an issue with a couple of the French Lavender plants in our raised bed at the front of our house. As you can see from the pics they seem to be dying off (we've included pics of both the problem plants and one for comparison purposes). We have 8 plants in total in a line down one side of the bed (8 English Lavenders down the other) and its the ones at each end that are giving us great concern as the rest in the line are thriving and have nearly doubled in size in the last month. We think we're likely going to end up losing them completely, but would like to know if anyone else has any ideas before we take them out and replant in their place...all help appreciated and thanks in advance.

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I wonder if that's being caused by animal urine. Cats for example - marking territory, or foxes.
    Bl**dy nuisance for many plants in people's gardens, and quite common. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    The only other thing l can think of is a possible drainage problem in those areas. I would certainly dig out the one in your second photo and see what the drainage is like. The one on the end in your first photo, l would just clip off the dead bits and see what happens.
    French lavender is quite tricky, but the rest look nice and healthy. 
  • big.stevobig.stevo Posts: 7
    Fairygirl said:
    I wonder if that's being caused by animal urine. Cats for example - marking territory, or foxes.
    Bl**dy nuisance for many plants in people's gardens, and quite common. 
    Yes we did think of cats, especially as until recently our nextdoor neighbour had two however, we assumed that the other lavender's would show similar yellowing too...perhaps we should look into a little cat repellent and see where that takes us...thanks for your input. 
  • big.stevobig.stevo Posts: 7
    AnniD said:
    The only other thing l can think of is a possible drainage problem in those areas. I would certainly dig out the one in your second photo and see what the drainage is like. The one on the end in your first photo, l would just clip off the dead bits and see what happens.
    French lavender is quite tricky, but the rest look nice and healthy. 
    Thank-you Anni...we have considered cutting out the bad piece of the lavender in the second photo, in the hope that the two remaining healthy looking parts will continue to grow and fill in the gap...as for the other, we suspect it may be the dampest part of the bed as its in the most shielded corner and perhaps the damage is caused by the plant being shielded on two sides by the wall and not being able to dry out like the rest of the bed.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They often just target one bit though @big.stevo, which is why it came to mind. 
    If you had a wildlife camera you could keep an eye on them though.
    However, soil dryness/dampness can certainly be factors too, because of wall footings with concrete etc, or the opposite - a more open, wetter section. 

    Unfortunately, sometimes plants just don't thrive for unknown reasons, which is just as frustrating!
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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