Lavandula Care

Sunlight and Soil

• Lavandula requires full sun exposure and well-drained soil to grow successfully in a home garden. Select a planting location that receives more than six hours of direct sunlight per day. Till 2 inches of peat moss and 2 inches of composted bark into the soil to a depth of 8 inches to improve drainage. Plant 4-inch Lavandula plants in the prepared garden bed in the spring or fall. Master gardener Susan Perry writes on the Colorado State University Extension website that fall-planted lavender has a better chance of survival and flowers more profusely the following spring.

Irrigation

• Irrigate lavender plants regularly while they're working to establish strong root systems in your garden bed; water young plants once or twice per week to maintain moist, well-drained soil. Mature plants may be irrigated once every two weeks until they flower; during flowering, increase the frequency of irrigation to once or twice weekly. Provide up to 1 inch of water each time you irrigate. Water lavender once a month during the winter but avoid allowing the soil to become soggy or waterlogged.

Fertilization

• Lavender plants can survive in nutrient-poor soils, though they perform best when provided with a regular diet of supplemental fertilization. The peat moss and composted bark that you worked into the soil before planting provides lavender with the nutrients it needs to become established. Top the surface of the soil with a 2-inch layer of well-rotted compost or leaf mold when the plants start to flower. Keep the compost fertilizer at least three inches from the base of the plants.

Pruning

• Annual pruning keeps lavender looking its best and makes growth more vigorous. Lavendula flowers on the current year's growth, so prune the plants in the spring when new leaves begin to emerge. Use sharpened and sterilized garden shears to cut each stem back by one-third its length. Cut the stems back to a healthy leaf node. Make clean, 45-degree pruning cuts to make it easier for the lavender to heal its pruning wounds.