I got given this French lavender pot plant back in March, its done really well over the summer, but I am not sure what to do with it now? Do I need to cut it back? Or plant it out?! Any advice greatly received
French lavender isn't fully hardy everywhere in the UK, but I have had them come through the winter sometimes. Never more than one winter for an individual plant though - perhaps they're not very long-lived in our climate. I bought one earlier this year, cheap enough not to worry if it only lasted the one summer. In a few weeks when the flowers have all faded I'll give it a clip over - not too hard, but low enough to take off the old flower spikes and a bit of the green growth - then put it in a sheltered spot against the house wall under the eaves to keep the worst of the rain off it (assuming we get some over the winter). If it's alive next spring I'll put it into a bigger pot then.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I only have one ( in a sunny spot on patio, in a stone urn on some kind of stone column). Allegedly "anouk". The container is too heavy for me to move so I have no clue what the drainage / root situation inside is like, but potted initially in gritty compost and those clay pebble things. Until this summer I have never watered it, except to give it a teaspoon of shrub food annually in late spring with about a litre of water. This summer it probably got a total of 2 or maybe 2.5 litres of water (approx a beaker full every couple of weeks from early June).
It has been in since 2018, maybe even earlier, seems very happy ( I should say i had two others - different containers but same general position - which died within a couple of years , maybe this is just a resilient fluke).
@Lyn - i've always struggled to do lavender from seed, cuttings easier for me but maybe I am just not letting the seed ripen enough.
My concern with a greenhouse is that it might get too humid, but I don't have one so I can't say for sure. Maybe try it but ventilate during the daytime unless it's really freezing cold. Keep it just slightly moist over winter - it shouldn't need a lot of water when it's not growing.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Oh I see, I didn't realise it wouldn't over winter! If I put it in the greenhouse, would that be a good Idea? Should I stop watering it?
I don't have a greenhouse , but assuming it is frost free , then yes it should survive that way , reduce watering to a small amount every ten days or so if it is indoors. If you choose to leave it outdoors next to a wall as suggested above , for the winter at least raise it on pot feet so that any rain it gets can easily drain away.
@JennyJ mentioned re cutting back - good advice, nothing to add, but just be very careful not to cut down into brown growth ( does not reliably grow back from woody stems).
The reason they don't overwinter is being sat in lots of water and then being cold. If they're sat in poor draining soil they'll die. We grow them successfully outside here on the Pennines. Very exposed, frost, -5, covered in snow, it doesn't bother them one bit. The reason is they're on a steep bank with rocks underneath in very well drained stony soil so they're not sat in water.
It looks like your plant needs re-potting perhaps and also a trim. If you'd watched GW the other week The Don showed how to do it. I'd put it in the greenhouse just before it gets really cold and wet, water it very sparingly over Winter then re-pot if needed next Spring in a very stony well draining compost. If you risk it outside then at least lift the pot off the ground and hope the rain will drain through it. I wouldn't plant it out, not unless you have the soil conditions it needs in Winter.
Posts
If I put it in the greenhouse, would that be a good Idea? Should I stop watering it?
It has been in since 2018, maybe even earlier, seems very happy ( I should say i had two others - different containers but same general position - which died within a couple of years , maybe this is just a resilient fluke).
@Lyn - i've always struggled to do lavender from seed, cuttings easier for me but maybe I am just not letting the seed ripen enough.
edit to correct typo
@JennyJ mentioned re cutting back - good advice, nothing to add, but just be very careful not to cut down into brown growth ( does not reliably grow back from woody stems).
The reason is they're on a steep bank with rocks underneath in very well drained stony soil so they're not sat in water.
It looks like your plant needs re-potting perhaps and also a trim. If you'd watched GW the other week The Don showed how to do it.
I'd put it in the greenhouse just before it gets really cold and wet, water it very sparingly over Winter then re-pot if needed next Spring in a very stony well draining compost.
If you risk it outside then at least lift the pot off the ground and hope the rain will drain through it.
I wouldn't plant it out, not unless you have the soil conditions it needs in Winter.