Dear everyone;
Nice to meet you all here, the forum giving us the informative...THANKS.
We living in tropical zone, which our terrain (to be farmed) is Hill side, 200-400 meter high from sea level, humid (40%-80% in average annually), rainy but not heavy, temp in winter during 10C-20C, summer 20-30C and rainy during 18-28C.
We plan to establish the lavender farm here in the near future, If we succeed for growing the lavender plant (from SEEDS!). None of this farm in our country/neighbor country...
I knew that, I will have very good suggestion/advise/comment from all of you here in this forum, you may need more infor, please drop to this forum and we will check/response more often.
THANKssss IN ADVANCE>>
Growing Lavender in Tropical zone....need suggestion..THANKs
Greatful, Dutchlady1. Appreciate your voice... If you have an experience starting from seed, may we have the detail 'how to grow', how to prepare cell, soil, water during seed, water during seedling...etc., Thanks in advance....
I suggest you search the word 'lavender' in DG, there are a number of articles and other info.
this might help you get started:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1842/
Thanks, Dutchlady1. We will visit those article and we also looking for someone (individual or firm) who has the experience to grow this kind of plant in tropical zone, Those article could help ideally (most article regarding the USA zone, )....we would need to get start at the right way, with any varitie/species. Anyway, big thanks for your hand...
Lavandula dentata 'Candicans' does well in the tropics.
It needs to be in full sun with well drained soil.
Thanks, Metrosideros..we will try Lavandula dentata 'Candicans' (we suppose this is the same French lavendula/French long lavender)...
I'm sure you'll do well with it. It's the most successful Lavender in Hawai'i.
i have tried lavender seedlings here before, they never work. but i don't know which type it was, so maybe the one dave suggested will work.
i will look for it myself next time i go to South Africa!
isaac
Wow......writers from Mozambique and Thailand now......things are starting to get very exotic on Tropical Zone and it so wonderful to have this gardening connection around the world. aloha
Aloha and welcome to all. Yes, we sure are getting exotic - how very lovely!
To Metrosideros, what species worked well in HI, pls advise. Thanks.
Hi Iamstar, it is Lavandula dentata.
Thank you..i have it...(French Lavender)..
Good luck , Iamstar!
Isaac
Dear all;
Update, i sown many varities that i had, they start sprounted and seedling, some with 'true leaf', will keep monitor ..Thank to all...
Iamstar, keep us updated, i hope they all do well!
Isaac
Dear folks;
I have an updated. with posted picture of 'French' and 'Munstead' Thanks for cheer up.
I also have 3-4 question need your advise.
1. Some seedling, It seem to have 'stem bending', is that cause from too much watering or else.
2. I Some seedling, it seem to have 'burn leaf', is that cause from too sunny or else.
3. how much and how oftern to water the 'seedling' which is 2-5 cm long
4. how much of sun for 'tiny seedling', in my country is rainy season and sometime very hot sun.
THANKSSSS
More pic, with burning leaf
Hi Iamstar, Lavender likes to be in full sun, but needs to have well drained soil. It should not be kept in soaking wet conditions. If it is raining a lot you may need to give the plants more shelter, especially till they get larger.
No Lavender will be long lived in a very wet area. The place where I saw Lavandula dentata do well on Maui, was in Upper Kula. It was at about 3,000 ft. elev. and they get about 30 inches of rain per year.
You might try growing the plants in a greenhouse if it is going to be very wet.
Pogostemon cablin, Patchouli, gets nicely scented leaves and flower spikes similar to Lavender, and can handle a lot of rain.
It looked to me like your leaves were fine in that seedling. Often the first leaves (which are not really leaves but cotyledons) will start to pale after the true leaves form.
I live in a humid climate, at sea level, and we have trouble growing lavender here. Like metrosideros mentioned, drainage is most important and good air circulation too.
iamstar --may I ask some crudely commercial questions?
Who will your customers for the lavender be?
Do they want fresh cut, dried or plants? --all?
Are they currently buying imported goods, or do you anticipate creating new lavender buyers? What total amount do people spend on lavender now?
It's certainly a terrific "product" --and it sounds like you will have a lock on the market, which is ideal.
That said, you might well consider determining which other plant products your target customers buy, then adding as many of those as practicable to your farming plan. This would lower your risk, which I gauge otherwise inordinately high, based on the many critical factors our friendly DG experts have detailed for you. Sounds like everything must go right, or you will not have the lavender you'd hoped. Should you find that lavender grows nicely and sells well --I trust your judgement, but these are both "bets"-- you can increase its share next season. And year 1, you are not broke if the plants don't grow, or grow and don't sell to your expectations --you'll have spread your risk across other revenue items.
Good luck!
All;
Thanks for comment,
can anyone help answer to those my each above questions and below questions as well...thanks in advance.
Now not sure 'too much water' or 'too much sun'.
Q> CAN very small tiny Seedling get the full sun? May 'burn leaf' result?
Q>When water the seedling, where should be 'at the base', 'around the base' or somewhere esle.
THANKSSSS.
Q to "ardesia", what is cotyledons, sorry... i dont' get it. thanks.
A to "JPlunket", thank you for your question and concern, we are going to start from zero, no plan for 'real customer' yet to be defined. So far, we expect the only 'farm' that attractive to 'tourist' and 'visitor'. not go beyong for 'lavendor product itself' such oit, dried etc.,
We imagine that, we have free area which so called 'huge yard' and we'd like to set up our own yard to be 'big lavender yard', yes. it may not call farm...it will be our yard and invite visitor or tourist to.... Business later, nature firstly.
correction
beyong = beyond
oit = oil
More info, when I said bending, i found 'brown at base of seedling'. what does it cause, please advise.
THANKSSS.
Iamstar, in your picture the cotyledons would be those round leaves that are turning brown. They are often called the 'seed leaf" and they provide food for the growing plant. After the true leaves begin to form the cotyledons begin to die off.
So, let me summary,
1. My seedling don't afraid of full sun,
2. The damping off and burend leaves came from "fungi" and "wet feet". Not by 'full sun'.
Two assumption, am I correct. THANKS ALL.
Update PICs
This 1785 picture has 'brown leaf', these leaves is first set.
Update Photos
Now I have Munstead+Hidcote more than 100 seedlings....still working closely for 'sun and water maintenance'.
Those seedling are now at BANGKOK, the capital of THAILAND. This weekend I plan to move 10 of them to the place that we need to plant permanently since the weather there is suit for them, (better weather than BANGKOK for sure).
And the weekafter, we can check the status of that 10 seedling...Wish me success...
THANKS>
Gosh, your babies are looking great iamstar! Good luck with you lavender yard, it's going to be beautiful! We have a lavender farm here on Maui which is very popular place for the tourists to visit, just as I am sure yours will be too.
Thanks for keeping us posted.
Things are looking very good, Imastar. That is a nice healthy looking plant. Good luck and keep us posted.
I've never considered growing lavender because it's a cold climate plant. I never thought there'd be any varieties that would take the heat and humidity. Even where you are, 200 - 400 metres above sea level it wouldn't be that much cooler. Where I live the climate is more like Bangkok. But if you're successful in growing it you should sell some at Damnoen Saduak to the tourists with a card showing your address where they can see it grow. Good luck.
Hey Tropicbreeze!
Lavandula dentata is a Mediterranean plant native to Spain and North Africa. It would probably do well in your area, as compared to other Lavenders.
Dave, mediterranean plants don't do well here at all. They mostly rot in no time.
Excuse me Tropicbreeze, figured they might.
Can you give an average winter temp., and rainfall for your area?
The climate here is equatorial. I'm a bit inland (50 kms) and the minimum winter temps usually range between 15C to 20C, some years it can spike down to 10C or up to 24C. Maximum winter day temps are around 32C to 34C, with early winter being around 36C and late winter getting up around 38C.
And sea surface temps can get down to 27C but like now, mid spring, they're around 30C to 31.5C. When it warms up they get around 33C to near 34C. On the coast it keeps the minimum temps higher and maximums lower with higher humidity.
It's monsoonal with a distinct wet/dry season division. Rains come from October to May. October, November and May are isolated storms, and this sometimes includes September (like this year 46mm for September). Monsoon from December to April inclusive, but when it weakens we get storms during those months as well. Annual rainfall seems to have increased over the past decade or more, it's supposed to be around 1700mm but has been around the 2000mm mark of late.
Humidity is mostly very high. The dry season it dips down to 30 to 40% during the day but goes up to 85 to 95% in the night. Spikes in humidity have been as low as 9% when we get dry air move in from the interior of the continent. Wet season the humidity is often up around 98% but can sometimes spike down to 60%.
Braveheartsmom : Thanksssss, we wish to see our yard be attractive for human (not only for bee and butterfly) too....
tropicbreeze : your area is quite same to our area. My (to be) lavender yard calling 'rain shadow' which all around we have 400 meter hill around our area. This can protect heavy rain/storm from our moonsoon season (May-Oct). Then we start winter (Nov-Feb) and summer is Mar-Mid May. We wish and cheer you to try, never get the bloom, at least you will get the friends/knowledge, like me, have got a lot from this forum.
All : Last Saturday(Oct 24), I moved 30 seedlings to my hill, put them under the covering area to protect from the heavy rain, but the roof is 80 can be lightened. (my home and my yard is 170 km apart), so I left them with my labor, to watering from my guidance. Two days aleady and I called for check. She said it's all Okay, the weather is climbing down since we will start our winter season here soon. I think all those seedling will get the clean air/cold windy/full sun, which all better than they are in Bangkok. This weekend I will move 100++ seedling to go there. Picture will be posted later.
THANKSS TO ALL.