Pena, click on the little tree logo just above where you type, then browse your collection of pics, double click on the one you want, select, and save. The photo takes a little time to upload so be patient. Look forward to seeing them
Pena, I can see why you are so upset, and desperate to find a solution. Remember that lavendar is a mediterranean plant. The med. climate is "hot dry summers, cool wet winters". That's what you should try to emulate, along with the drainage we talked about earlier.
3\4 years ago when they were still v young we had a local chap to help out and water on days of the week we were not there and he chopped them back severly in the first year - taking all the under sections away. after that they have slowly buckled under the weight of the rain and lack of drainage!! (said chap is now gone after he was noted not turning up for work during many weeks when we couldnt be there). I take the flowers off when they are in their prime to use for various ointments, potions and pillows for my beloved nan in england but to be honest do not trim back as they Never stop flowering. I\we now realise our biggest mistakes were to not prune in the first couple of years - and i mean every plant and tree through pure fear. I am v forward in the garden and instinctive but have a fear of pruning. i read that in tropical climates we should prune twice or even three times a year but as i said the flowers never stop producing. of course they have their hayday but....the more i know about gardening the more i realise how much i really don't know!! I am relatively new to gardening and to be honest its mostly a case of getting on with the urgent. with the amount of very hot sun and plenty of moutain rain the plants grow at astonishing rates and im trying to concentrate on being self-sufficient. Prices here are turning into England too!!
The standard advice is to trim them back after flowering, which in the UK would mean late summer although it doesn't make much difference if you leave this to the spring. If yours keep growing all year then I think that it would be up to you to decide when.Two or three times could be OK too.The absolutely essential rule that you must follow is that you must not trim them back so far that you are cutting into the brown stems at the base of the plant. If you do this the plant will not grow again on that stem. You should trim down only so far that you have left some green growth on each stem. Leave about 2-4 cms. of green and you should keep a nicely shaped shrub, and have stimulated flower formation. To keep up your supply of flowers for your Nan you could trim different plants at different times. I know pruning can be a bit frightening when you first start gardening but we have a saying that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Except that for lavender you must not not be too cruel!
I am thinking that you might be overwatering too. Lavendar is a drought tolerant plant that might wilt a bit if you let it go for over a week with no water, but overwatering is a sure killer for this one.
P.S. please let us know how you get on with your lavender plants and your lovely garden in general. We are all hoping you can get them back to splendid health and beauty.
Just looked at my lavender bushes outside the front fence, they look awful; only bits of them alive. I think they might have to go, also the horizontal Juniper.
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Pena, click on the little tree logo just above where you type, then browse your collection of pics, double click on the one you want, select, and save. The photo takes a little time to upload so be patient. Look forward to seeing them
Lovely Artjak! Big thanks, will do when i have some free time later!
Poor lavender bushes. This was taken in March, they are much worse now poor lovies
Oh well done! Shame about all that rain.
Pena, I can see why you are so upset, and desperate to find a solution. Remember that lavendar is a mediterranean plant. The med. climate is "hot dry summers, cool wet winters". That's what you should try to emulate, along with the drainage we talked about earlier.
Do you trim them back after flowering?
3\4 years ago when they were still v young we had a local chap to help out and water on days of the week we were not there and he chopped them back severly in the first year - taking all the under sections away. after that they have slowly buckled under the weight of the rain and lack of drainage!! (said chap is now gone after he was noted not turning up for work during many weeks when we couldnt be there). I take the flowers off when they are in their prime to use for various ointments, potions and pillows for my beloved nan in england but to be honest do not trim back as they Never stop flowering. I\we now realise our biggest mistakes were to not prune in the first couple of years - and i mean every plant and tree through pure fear. I am v forward in the garden and instinctive but have a fear of pruning. i read that in tropical climates we should prune twice or even three times a year but as i said the flowers never stop producing. of course they have their hayday but....the more i know about gardening the more i realise how much i really don't know!! I am relatively new to gardening and to be honest its mostly a case of getting on with the urgent. with the amount of very hot sun and plenty of moutain rain the plants grow at astonishing rates and im trying to concentrate on being self-sufficient. Prices here are turning into England too!!
The standard advice is to trim them back after flowering, which in the UK would mean late summer although it doesn't make much difference if you leave this to the spring. If yours keep growing all year then I think that it would be up to you to decide when.Two or three times could be OK too.The absolutely essential rule that you must follow is that you must not trim them back so far that you are cutting into the brown stems at the base of the plant. If you do this the plant will not grow again on that stem. You should trim down only so far that you have left some green growth on each stem. Leave about 2-4 cms. of green and you should keep a nicely shaped shrub, and have stimulated flower formation. To keep up your supply of flowers for your Nan you could trim different plants at different times. I know pruning can be a bit frightening when you first start gardening but we have a saying that sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Except that for lavender you must not not be too cruel!
I am thinking that you might be overwatering too. Lavendar is a drought tolerant plant that might wilt a bit if you let it go for over a week with no water, but overwatering is a sure killer for this one.
P.S. please let us know how you get on with your lavender plants and your lovely garden in general. We are all hoping you can get them back to splendid health and beauty.
Just looked at my lavender bushes outside the front fence, they look awful; only bits of them alive. I think they might have to go, also the horizontal Juniper.