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Perennials Shrubs Garden Clinic

Help with Spanish lavender

Stephanie Kendrick

last month

Hi. I was wondering if I could get some thoughts on my Spanish lavender. We have about 8 planted in a “row” in our yard. They were planted last June, so this is their first time coming out of winter into spring. I’m not sure what’s normal and what isn’t since I’ve never grown it before. I’m in Southern California and we have had an unusually rainy winter. It’s finally getting sunny again and warming up, and hasnt rained in the last two weeks. I finally turned our drip back on last week. I watered the yard exactly 6 days ago, and was going through the yard today to see if it could start being watered once a week since the plants are starting to bloom and the weather is warming up. All the lavender started blooming about two weeks ago, but I just noticed that a lot of the leaves are starting to turn grey, especially at the base. Is this normal for this time of year or is it another issue? The leaves seem pretty dry when I run my hands through them, and some of them fall off. I did a soil test and it seems on the dryer side. I get so much different information that it could be root rot, old growth that’s dead, a fungus, etc. I know lavender loves dry soil and to not water it much, but I don’t want to leave it completely and it get worse. Has anyone actually had experience with lavender and this issue.? And if so, what should I do about it? Thank you!!

here are pictures of some of our lavender plants

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Comments (4)

floraluk2
last month
Looks fine to me. After winter some foliage will be shed. Leaves don't live forever. It could have done with a light clipping over after flowering last year but it's too late now. Clip it when the current flowers finish. And I highly doubt it needs watering.
Stephanie Kendrick
Original Author
last month
Okay thank you! I did remove/deadhead all the faded flowers after it finished blooming last summer, but I do wish I would have done a overall light pruning. But im planning on doing it this year.
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Hi! If anyone is still going to read this... I just found out that my lavender is actually lavender multifida or Spanish Eyes! Apparently it is quite a hardy thing and can take humidity (probably explains why its still alive) well. I will probably take the entire pot indoors for the winter from December to February, as its still a young thing. My question is: Many plants go dormant in winter, which helps them to rest and reboot for spring. If I bring my lavender inside, will it mess up its system cos it cannot hibernate? My house is almost like a greenhouse because I have large glass walls instead of concrete walls, and the indoors plants get a good amount of sunlight. Any other information and advice pertaining to growing this type of lavender very much appreciated!! The leaves are starting to smell good already! Thanks very much to anyone still reading this thread.
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Know this is an old thread, but wanted to chime in, anyway :-) Lavandulas (except for a hybrid L. angustifolia "Lady") typically won't full bloom the first year either from seed or cutting, just as you wouldn't expect any baby shrub to bloom. I don't think your problem is the soil unless you've added "good garden" amendments like compost or manure to your sandy mix. Usually if Lavs die the first year in the ground, it is because you are taking too good care of them. Remember -- benign neglect except for light watering ONLY to encourage root establishment is what they like. A really dilute fish emulsion in the Spring is all mine get for fertilizer, and that is just to enhance new growth before pruning. And -- just as important -- don't mulch to the trunk. The best lav I ever had was a self-sown in a rock wall crevice. Martie
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According to the pink bunny's ears lavender in the front yard: if the wood isn't too old then there can be some 'back budding' - new growth on bare wood. As you have fairly new plants you may be in luck. Your main challenge will be to keep any new shoots protected from late frosts - and excess damp. Excess damp tends to turn the foliage into black mush. When you cut back use the colour of the stems for guidance. There are the newest, still green ones. When you snip back the dead flower heads go down into a pair of leaf tufts to get more dormant buds to start. To keep some semblance of symmetrical shape (ha! I wish!!) cut back below the green where the wood is a warm brown, possibly with a touch of yellow - and there are still leaf tufts along the stems. Go to a healthy pair facing the direction you need. Just in case - take some cuttings in spring and nurture them through to the following spring. They'll often come away in sharp sand or vermiculite. Ensure plenty of air otherwise they'll happily rot before your eyes. For mulching - I'd choose pebbles. Nice rounded ones if they suit your decor. They keep the moisture in the ground, suppress the weeds, and reflect heat up into the branches to ripen them up for winter. Keep them back from the stem, though, by at least an inch. Thick enough to hide the soil and thwart the weed seeds.
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This probably won't be helpful, but I have catmint (Nepeta faassenii Select Blue bought from High Country Gardens back in 2015) and lavender (don't recall the variety, but I think an English lavender) in my Austin-area garden (clayey soil, so not great drainage) and for me, the catmint stays short, sprawls a lot, and the blooms are rather inconspicuous. My English lavender has bloomed and is lovely, but had some sporadic die-off during the winter (perhaps due to the lack of drainage). The shape of the two plants, for me, is very different - catmint spreads outward a lot but I can't get it to lift up off the ground. The lavender is a rounded shrub and is much taller, especially when blooming. I have googled the catmint variety and mine does not look at all like the photos so it seems likely that I am doing something wrong. Oh - also, if you have cats in the area, you'll need to protect the catmint until it grows large enough to fend for itself. Actually, that could be the problem for my plant - I know it gets frequent visits from the neighborhood strays. Based on their performance in my garden, I prefer the lavender. I also am not a huge fan of the catmint scent.
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floraluk2
last month
last modified: last month

Yes, lavender needs light clipping all over rather than just dead heading. You're not doing it just to remove dead flowers. You're doing it to encourage branching and new growth from the stems. Don't cut into brown wood though.
Stephanie Kendrick
Original Author
last month
Yea, I am aware of that now. I think last year I was unsure if it needed it because they were so young And small. But after reading up more on them, I wish I would have just done it. This year I will definitely go ahead and prune it after these flowers fade, then do a harder prune in autumn. Hopefully I didn’t mess up too bad with not pruning them last year. We got our yard completely redone in June with a mix of more drought tolerant and Ca native plants. I’m definitely inexperienced when it comes to plants/gardening, but have learned so much since then and continue to learn. I’m still trying to figure out what’s normal and what’s not. But I’m glad I can get help when needed.

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