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Will Lavatera cope in a spot exposed to occasional strong winds

IanJamesIanJames Posts: 6
in Problem solving
Hi,

I've never grown Lavatera before and have just bought two young plants (barnsley, and a rosea) currently about two foot tall. I hope to plant them in my front garden, a sunny but exposed spot that gets the occasional strong wind.

I am keen to understand how well they cope with wind? Can they handle the occassional gale, or do they just flop in the slightest breeze? Do they need lots of support? The young plants look fairly delicate - but I've not seen (other than in small pictures on the web) how lavatera's look all grown up! Are they tougher than I think?

I could grow them against a wall, but they would get less sun there. I also wondered whether using something like an adjustable tomato cage would be a good idea around the base.

Thanks for any experience you can pass on!

Ian




Posts

  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    They are quite tough plants once established. My sense is that they would handle wind well. They're adapted to be drought resistant so what kills them is waterlogging. I would suggest giving them a bit of protection while they are very small, but they are rapid growers, and by the end of the season I would expect them to be well developed.
  • NoSlugsPleaseNoSlugsPlease Posts: 120
    I bought 3 lavatera plants 3 years ago (2 Barnsleys, 1 baby Barnsley) and planted them in exposed spots due to my inexperience (we often get strong winds here & I didn't know our new garden well enough). When they were about 3-4 feet tall, 2 of them were blown over, but the stems were only bent and didn't snap. I didn't pull them upright again as I was afraid of snapping the stems. Luckily, they were tough and continued to grow upwards again. They are still growing well and produced lots of flowers the last 2 summers. However, if I were to do it again, I'd support them from the start.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I found them to be very flimsy here. Floppy plants, due to their growth habit ,even with other planting around.
    I wouldn't risk it in a windy site without proper support.
    As with all plants, your location is a factor too. What I think of as a breeze, others would consider very windy  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • SlumSlum Posts: 385
    Mine copes with occasional 40+ mph winds and flowers well. I’m sure it would do even better with more shelter and sunlight. 
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    This post on my garden site might help you: The ‘Barnsley’ Lavatera, a fragile plant!
    And you might also be interested in reading about the peculiar character of L. 'Barnsley' in that other post of mine: Lavatera ‘Barnsley’, a lovely chimera!
    I have stopped posting in English on my garden site, but I continue posting in French... You can read updates on the 'Barnsley' vs 'Rosea' saga here and here.

    Quite recently I removed all of my older Lavatera specimen (which was mostly rotten) and planted out the 2 cuttings I had made back in 2020, one which flowered in 2022 as 'Barnsley' and the one which flowered as  'Rosea'. I'm impatiently waiting for new developments of the saga. ;)

    In the meantime my advice is you should seriously stake your Lavatera specimens as they grow...

    Pic of my Lavatera in 2020: original 'Barnsley' flowers on the right and reverted to Rosea type on the left.
  • IanJamesIanJames Posts: 6
    Thank you for your great replies. Really helpful. We are at the top of a hill and so the weather likes to keep us on our toes - yes our breezes are probably other people's gales too. Fascinating to see Barnsley reverting to Rosea - still looks beautiful though to my eyes - perhaps even more so to have both flowers on one plant. Great to read your blog. I'll start planning how to do some appropriate support, and make sure there's lots of good drainage thanks to the tip about ensuring it doesn't get waterlogged, and with a bit of luck I'll get to see something like your photo above out of my living room window this summer and summers to come (hopefully without too many instances of running outside in a storm with additional string and stakes!).

  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited April 2023
    They sway about a bit in the wind, but it depends on what they might get caught up with.  I used to stay at an exposed hotlel on the cliffs at Pentire Head, N.Cornwall, there was good protection but a strong gale would get in and swirl around.  They, rosea,  stood it well.

    Cuttings root easily;  the plants need replacing every few years as they can get untidy.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    edited June 2023
    Papi Jo said:
    Quite recently I removed all of my older Lavatera specimen (which was mostly rotten) and planted out the 2 cuttings I had made back in 2020, one which flowered in 2022 as 'Barnsley' and the one which flowered as  'Rosea'. I'm impatiently waiting for new developments of the saga. ;)
    Here's an update to my April post... I'm pleased to report that the 2 cuttings I planted out in the Spring (and duly staked) have now grown very well and, most importantly, that I do have recovered a specimen of the original 'Barnsley' (2 m high!) and a specimen of the one reverted to the 'Rosea' type, both as expected. Now to watch that the Barnsley does not revert to type again any time soon.

    @IanJames, how are your Lavatera faring?

    Lavatera Rosea 1.60 m. high
    Lavatera x clementii 'Barnsley' 2 m. high

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