New lavender plants

Does anyone know about lavender? I bought two Grosso lavender plants today at the LA Arboretum and plan to plant them this weekend.

I've noticed so far with my other lavender plants that they don't seem to like to be watered very much. They wilt when they get wet. I have an English and a French lavender. Is the Grosso likely to be the same?

Also, the Arboretum is a very different microclimate from me. Much hotter and drier. What should I do to ease the transfer?

Yes Grosso will need the same care as your other Lavenders.

I don't know what your soil type is but we add a good layer of grit to the planting hole to increase the drainage to the area.

Thanks - I have poor sandy soil. The garden is terraced on a hill, and the best place for the lavender is probably the top terrace. Drainage should be no problem. Someone told me not to use any fertilizer - is this right? I usually add some well-composted horse manure when I plant anything.

Thanks again.

Lavenders like moderately fertile soil, they are often sold as plants for poor soil but they don't do as well where the soil is impoverished.

Personally, I'd only add manure or any compost if it's got a soil like texture, while planting. If it's very dark but still a bit sticky then I'd dig it in and leave for a couple of months.

That's just my way, I know others will differ, if adding the horse manure works for your other Lavenders, then by all means keep on going with it :)

The manure is light in both color and texture. It's mixed with straw. I think it's a year old or more - got it from a gardening friend who said it was composted. I've been using it on my other lavenders with good results.
I think my soil is pretty dreadful. I don't even get weeds. It's more or less reclaimed urban soil, and it would probably be a lot worse if I didn't live so close to the beach - thus, I have poor sand instead of poor clay. At least it drains.
Should I put in any dolomite, do you think? One of my books says lavender likes limestone - though dolomite isn't exactly the same thing, I think it's chemically similar. Or is sandy soil alkaline enough?
Thanks much - these are beautiful plants and I really want them to do well.
anne

If the compost has worked well before, that's great, it'll give the Lavender a good start.

Sandy soils can be alkaline, neutral or acid depending on the specific geography of your area. If your other Lavenders are doing well you probably have a more neutral to alkaline soil (don't bank on this though). First thing I would do before adding anything is a Ph test. I'm not sure what is available where you live but in the UK we can get small kits starting at about $1 to quite complicated soil testers. Once you have the Ph level you will be able to judge whether you need to add anything to make it alkaline.

If you soil won't grow weeds you could probably bag it and sell it to a whole bunch of people! ;)

Thanks for the suggestion about the soil test kit. I'm going to the garden center tomorrow and will pick one up. Do you happen to know what Ph range is good for lavender? I guess I should test the soil both with and without manure.

That "won't grow weeds" feature is a boon in a way, but it really gives me pause. On the other hand, my tomatoes are doing nicely (they got lots of manure and other fertilizer in the planting holes).

Thanks again -

anne

Lavender will tolerate a Ph between 5.8 to 8. Ideally the soil Ph should be between 6.5 to 7.8. Horse manure will, in time, lower the Ph of a soil (it does take a while).

I'm glad to hear you can grow some plants in that soil, it can't be too bad if you have some good tomatoes! Some of us on heavy clay would love a bit of that sand *G* Grass is always greener LOL

I remember about the clay - I grew up in New Orleans. Awful heavy soil - I'd have given anything for some sand. That and the high water table made for daunting gardening conditions.

My present bunch of tomatoes were planted with ample amounts of "Tomatoes Alive Plus" fertilizer and gro-mulch, and have had several dressings with the composted horse manure. I water from plastic jugs with a hole punched in the bottom - sort of a poor man's drip watering system. I'd assume this helps them put down deep roots. They look good.

But I was down there this morning, digging for some more tomatoes, and oh, dear, that soil. Where I haven't worked on it yet, it's almost hardpan. Once I break it up and add manure, though, it seems to be fairly easy to reclaim. Probably the good drainage and sun have daunted molds and other such critters. I do have snails, but they don't seem to go for the tomatoes (I believe tomato leaves are actually poisonous, though I'm not sure on this one.)I'm going to get some traps for the snails when I'm at the nursery this weekend. These monsters were actually deliberately imported into California by someone looking to raise escargots. All I can say is, I have NO desire to eat a one of them! *Boo* to the guy who brought them here!

Thanks for the info on the pH for lavender. I'll make sure conditions are right before I put these lovely things in. I'm wondering, too, if I can take cuttings from them to root under my plant lights indoors (they're pretty large). Do you happen to know about propagating lavender? Does it root easily?

Thanks again,
anne

New Orleans sounds a world away from California!

You seem to have got the tomato growing just right there. I agree I also have no desire to eat snails ... unless I was starving of course, but I really hope it wouldn't get that bad ;) The presence of snails would also indicate a more alkaline soil too because they apparently need it for the shell formation.

My pleasure re the information! As for rooting Lavender, it is fairly easy. Just take semi-ripe cuttings (now through to September is a good time) with no flowers forming on the branch and leave a 2-3 inch heel on it. Pop the cuttings into a well drained potting media and the majority should root in a 3-4 weeks.

New Orleans is indeed a world away from California. I moved here in 1972 to attend college at UC Berkeley, then moved south for my job after graduation. (I'm a historic preservation consultant). Probably if I went back, the passage of time would have made New Orleans itself "a world away". I've become a Californian, just as the snails have (though a more constructive one than they, I hope!)

I'll see about getting a test kit tomorrow. I have a feeling that, if I knew more, the plants that flourish here would give me a good idea what kind of soil I have. However, I will just have to find out.

Thanks again for all the help with the lavender.
anne

My pleasure!

Please let us know how the Lavender cuttings do for you :)

Historic preservation sounds interesting work!