Grow AMAZING Lavender in Containers From Seed (No Cold Stratifying)
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- čas přidán 7. 06. 2024
- Here are my easy-to-follow steps for growing beautiful, edible lavender in containers at home. Lavender may have a reputation for being hard to grow, but it’s actually super easy to grow in a pot if you know how to avoid the pitfalls.
Don’t be dissuaded by lavender guides that tell you to purchase an older plant and to only place it in special soils. Anyone who’s got a pot or container with good drainage and normal potting mix can successfully grow a lavender plant. Whether you’re most excited to attract the bees, or dry the flowers into sachets or cook with the flower buds - this is the year to add lavender to your container garden!
In this video, we'll cover practical strategies for overcoming some common lavender hiccups and achieving your goals with this lovely plant, whatever they might be. You’ll learn which variety to select (English!) the how and why of selecting a container, filling it with potting mix, planting seeds the easy way, watering to avoid root rot, pruning and harvesting strategies, and much more. Join us and let’s grow some lavender!
Written article version of this video if you'd rather read than watch: nextdoorhomestead.com/blog/gr...
Equipment you might want to follow this video
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1) Fabric Grow Bag: www.amazon.com/Alotpower-Aera...
2) Lavender Seeds: www.dollarseed.com/pd-vera-la...
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Chapters
00:23 Types of Lavender
01:33 How to Start Lavender Seeds
04:26 Selecting a Container
06:23 Potting Mix Considerations
07:31 Transplanting and Companion Planting
08:53 Container Location
09:21 Watering
10:56 Fertilizers
11:18 Harvest and Pruning
#gardening #growyourownfood #lavender - Jak na to + styl
I watched at least a dozen videos on lavender before yours and I must say that I think yours is the most comprehensive and thoughtful. Thanks
That's really amazing to hear, I'm so glad it was useful. We're still harvesting off that same lavender plant all the time =)
For sure 100%!!!
thumbs up! as a lavender lover i really thank you for the time you took to make this really helpful video.
Hi, I'm in the UK and have many types of Lavender...I put horticultural sand in my pots...they love that. Most Lavender growers in the UK are based in coastal areas in Norfolk and Kent due to the sandy soil...worth a mention I thought
Ah lovely - thank you for the tip! I didn't realize they were concentrated near the coast either.
Thank you 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Thank you for this video. We live in NC- Zone 8a and today at our favorite plant store, we found Lavender- my 8yr old was overly excited. This video was extremely helpful to get us started.
The only thing I need more information on is how to handle HIGH humidity.
Absolute best of luck! I would just focus on making sure their roots are not getting too soggy personally.
In fairness, I have a lot more experience in dry climates than humid ones (though a bit in those too =).
Your eyes are as bright as your plants! I read that my seeds will take 2 years to mature, just making sure I'm taking care of them correctly until then! I'm growing TONS MORE. Thank you so much for the information!
You're so welcome! They certainly explode in year two like a lot of garden perennials but English lavender is well worth it even in year one. It really takes off after a slow start, especially if you have a long season.
You're probably the best plant advisor I've ever listened to here. Unfortunately, due to my lack of foresight, i planted my seeds BEFORE seeking any instructions and now the poor guys won't see the light of day for quite some time. But thanks for the video!
Hahaha I think most of us gardeners experiment first, then research =)
At least that way you know what can go wrong! Good luck with your lavender - you'll get 'em going strong!
Great information!
Excellent thanks 😊
I’m so happy I found this channel!!!! Thank you!!!
Thanks for joining up and I'm so glad you enjoyed our content! You are so very welcome =)
I winter sowed Avignon Early Blue and Lavance Deep Purple lavender and had no issues with germination. So easy, just plant and ignore. Planted in January and sprouted in March. I just transplanted my seedlings into 4” pots and will be shortly pinching them back to promote new growth.
That's awesome! Our tiny propagated lavenders are starting to flower - such a fun plant =)
Thank you so much. Very informative.
Thank you for watching Cathy! So glad it was helpful =)
right off the bat - i knew i would like you. thank you for sharing your knowledge :)
So glad you enjoyed it! We're going to be starting some more lavender seeds here soon actually =). Can never have too many!
Received my first mature lavender plant as a gift. Great video and very informative!
Oh nice - what a lovely gift. Thanks for watching and so glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much you’ve helped me a lot. Have a great year planting
AWESOME! Love to hear that. You have a great garden year too =)
If any of these tips didn't help anyone and if your seeds have failed, give up. Just throw your seeds out in the garden and *only then* they'll grow.
Thank you 😊 you told me everything I needed to know
So glad to hear it! Enjoy the lavender and I hope you make some lemonade with it this summer =)
Excellent! Video! Wow
That's really nice of you =)
Thanks for watching!
I put stones in a few pots. Did nothing for drainage. Totally backfired. I'm growing mostly in sand. Lavender is gana love it :) Never heard of using crushed (chicken grit)!granite for drainage. That sounds great as we can get that easy locally. Yay :) Thanks
This video is so informational and answered all my questions! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
What a lovely thing to say! Thanks so much - I'm so very very glad it was helpful =)
Great tips thanks for sharing.
So glad it was helpful!
Fantastic video. It can get really hot where I am and we're in a drought at the moment. I can't wait to get my English Lavender in the ground. Hoping it thrives here! Thanks for the great info.
Our in-ground English lavender is doing very well in my hot climate! Not quite as well as the container plants and we do have it on irrigation (for now) but it's happy. The Spanish lavender next to it is THRIVING though =)
Anyhow, thank you so much for the kind words!
Great job
Why thank you!
THANK YOU
You are most welcome! Happy lavender growing!
Awesome I am starting Lavender in a pot ..starting from seed . See how it goes ..thanks so much for your info..❣️❣️
No problem Eunyce! The best part is, once you have an established plants, it's so easy to grow new ones from cuttings!
Great video ! chock full of great info. On the topic of good draining soil AND root rot prone roots. I'd like to share with you my many years of experimenting. In the soil medium, I mix in any product that is pure Calcined Clay, like Floor Dry, or Safe-T-Sorb for garages, to All Pro and Turface used by sports arenas. This stuff is different than other aggregates, in that is can hold and store fertilizers for the plants roots to absorb when it needs it, it's made up of tiny air pockets that makes it lighter than other similar looking gravels. All my "touchy" root plants do really well with this. Another technique is wicking. Use a synthetic cord to come out the bottom of the pot, coil around the bottom, then add soil. At the same time your adding soil, spiral the cord up and around the sides of the pot, going around and around to you get a couple inches from the top. If soil was invisible the cord would resemble a spiral staircase along the inside of the pot. This will keep the pickiest of roots very happy since there's no rotting happening. The cord literally directs excess water away and out of the pot by using gravity. Much like wick watering a plant...just in reverse. Synthetic works best, since it won't break down like natural fibers. In potted culture you can never have too much drainage ! Hope this helps people. Cheers !
I have never even heard of that wicking technique - so cool! I'll have to look into calcined clay product - I haven't used it but at least the nutrient retention aspect makes sense (same principle as growing in clay soil).
Seriously, thank you for sharing! I love comments like this that bring just a totally new set of experiences into play for everyone to noodle on.
I've never had luck growing this, my favourite herb (but not for cooking), from seed. I end up having to buy bags of lavender to make the satchets I keep in drawers; the satchets that keep moths away from my family's wool sweaters; and the essential oil I use to scent my home (lemon and lavender throughout the home = bliss). Now, I am looking forward to trying again and hoping for best results. Thank you!!! 🌱💛🪻
No problem at all! I hope you have a lot of luck with your lavender this year =)
I never used to like the smell of lavender products much until I started growing it myself and now I can't wait for it to bloom!
I had a house with established lavender but moved and now I miss the lavender bushes. I found some seeds in a grocery store so this video was very helpful as to all necessary information. Thanks so much. Greetings from Nova Scotia. 🇨🇦
Best of luck with your new seeds! I just love having ours around. So much that we propagated and planted some more this Spring =)
You're very welcome and thanks for watching!
Hey, fellow nova Scotia here aswel... Iv bee tryinbto germinate lavender for two years now, JUST finally got 4 sprouts so far and I'm very excited. So I can actually plant these in our ground here and it should comeback every year ? I was worried our ground gets too cold , but his is great to hear . Thnx
Great video! I am a beginner at gardening and the first seeds I bought to plant are lavenders. After buying them I heard that they are quite difficult to grow for a beginner but after seeing your video I understood almost every tip to keep in mind. I don't have growing lights or other tools. All I have is some pots, compost, garden soil and sand. I wish I can germinate them
Also I don't know if I should place my pots under shade or in direct sunlight after sowing them because the temperature here is really hot in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Its around 89 F to 110 F for this month
I'm wishing you the very best of luck with your seeds! You are right - that is really quite hot for germinating lavender seeds. I would definitely not put them in direct sun before they germinate.
You'll either need to plant a lot of seeds (like I did in this video) or cold stratify them in the fridge. Or you can try both!
👍👍Eugene, Oregon
😁
Great video and you have a lot of energy. I have stratified and been successful but I would like to try your method. You are right. Seeds are cheap and plentiful. Do you recommend a humidity dome with the grow lights or is it not necessary and possibly counter productive.
I have just never found humidity domes to be a net positive honestly. Outside of some very specific seed types. I don't like using them much at all!
And thank you for the kind words!
This was a very helpful and pleasant video. Thanks for sharing. One question : what do you do with your lavender containers in the winter? Here in Nebraska we have hot summers and cold winters, and I want to keep this lavender growing.
Thanks Bob - so glad you enjoyed it. Our winters are quite mild so we just prune it and leave it where it is (sometimes I'll move it under an eave if its getting waterlogged from rain.
English lavender is pretty tough and generally considered hardy down to zone 5. If your area gets colder than that, you may want to overwinter it indoors or at least in the garage.
Cheers!
Interesting video. What state are you in?
very informative vedio for me.
because i also start grow lavender in pot.from beautiful kashmir
I'm so glad it was helpful! Best of luck with your lavender =)
@@NextdoorHomestead where u from sir?
@@shamshadaakther163 United States Zone 9!
@@NextdoorHomestead great
Great video. I tried cold stratification for 5 seeds. i got 5 sprouts, but they failed to thrive when planted. I'm trying again without the cold strat. One more thing to consider about watering is how windy it is in your area. Here in Kansas (6b), the wind ALWAYS blows. The soil in containers dries out quickly regardless of the temperature. Just my opinion and experience.
Great point re: wind. I grabbed my seedlings from outside yesterday (windy day) and they were shockingly dry.
And best of luck with your seeds. I continue to just overseed and not bother with cold stratification - works great for me =)
Hi. I bought 4, 3" Spanish Lavender seedlings back June. Its my first time growing Lavender.
Today they are now healthy 9-12" plants
They are in small fabric planters.
They didn’t flower this summer & I haven't pruned them yet.
I babied them all summer.
They were brought under shelter when it was raining
So they wouldn't drown 😊
I live in Toronto Canada.
It's Starting to get cooler at night.
Winter is on it's way 😢😢.
We can get some cold & nasty snow/freezing rain weather.
What do you think I should do with these 6 month old little guys now.
First of all , Should I prune them now or wait until spring?
Then once it starts getting cold and I'm done gardening.
Should I Dig a hole in the ground and cover with leaves?
( Thats what I do with my mini roses )
Or transplant them into different soil and bring them inside and put under lights?
I finally got Lavende growing, I don't want to kill them now. Lol
I really like the easy simple way you grow.
Thank you for all the work you put into your videos for us.
Cheers
Hi!!! So I’m in the US, zone 5b and just bought a lavender seedling from the grocery store. It’s about 3-4 inches tall and has a few green sprigs in one little plastic cup… should I repot?? I have several plastic gallon containers but also can get my hands on the fabric bag.
Do I need to separate the plants?? Any help would be soooo appreciated!
Heya! So just to clarify, you've got a couple seedlings all growing bunched up together?
I need help brining back to life my indoor Spanish lavender 😭 please post a video on that. Specially when it comes down to trimming 😢
This may sound like a silly question, can I use seaweed concentrate (diluted in water) as fertilizer to lavender after a year or so? I'm very much interested on your opinion on this matter.
When starting indoors, should cover the staring trays?
I really never do and don't think it's necessary 😁
I have a question on growing lavender. I took my fat outside to harden it off before planting. We left for about an hour, checked the weather on four different places came home and found the lavender soaked, after overall half inch of rain. The petals started to turn dark. What should I do? I tried squeeze g the excess water out. I don't want to loose the entire flat.
Thank you Sami Zayn for the tips.
Hahaha I've gotten a lot of comparisons but that is definitely a new one. You are quite welcome for the tips and I hope your garden is having a nice spring!
😂
If you had to buy a store bought brand of soil for flowers or lavender what would you get? I just moved into a new house that had a raised bed. Dirt is a bit tough but now its been raining a lot in california. Wondering if i even need to buy soil?
I would.
What size container do you recommend up potting a 6 inch tall lavender plant started from seed? I had 20 seeds to germinate and grow. How deep could the first year root ball get? Thank you for your help.
I would go ahead and put them into their "final" pot size and not bother with any intermediary containers. In good conditions, they can grow to nicely fill in a 7 gallon container in year one.
Cheers,
@@NextdoorHomestead Thank you.
Even if you only grow it for the lavender compound butter it’s worth it.
Yes! This.
=)
What size terracotta pots do I get when I transplant the sprouts and how many sprouts per pot?
Heya Morgan! English lavender grows impressively large so I would go for at least 12 inches - although it will grow into an even larger pot if you give it the space =)
Only one seedling per pot unless you want to be extra careful. You can put two in there and cull the extra once they're a bit bigger in that case.
Good luck!
can I plant lavender if I live in terrace house?
I've only grown a few flowers over the years bc we have tons of pollinators. Bees always making hives in our mango trees. And I've only grown typical edibles. Then I started thinking about it. They're doing all that work.... They deserve a few regular treats around the garden. Bought a bunch of flowers and working on growing more flowers that are edible. Bonus. Keeps the wife happy with your garden obsession 😂😂
Yeesh, bee hives in the mango trees?! That sounds pretty wonderful I've got to say. I was never a fan using space for ornamentals but my family love them so I've done more and more.... and they've really grown on me. I too want to do more edible ornamentals!
My seedlings keep keeling over and dying , they are quite "leggy". How much stem above the soil when you initially re-pot them, and should I put them in partial shade when I first put them outside? The sun is brutal at times. Thanks!
If you're dealing with legginess, it may be that they aren't getting *enough* sun (or artificial light). Do you harden them off before transplant?
Anyhow, I generally like to wait until the root ball is starting to fill out the little soil cell before transplanting.
9:46 how do you tell the plant is dead? It looks fine to me? And now Im scared my lavender might be dead, since it grew sooooo little last year😅
Look at the withered bit in my fingers at that timestamp, not the healthy side shoot =). It was definitely deader than dead material.
Can i germinate the lavender with soil instead of papertowel
Yep! Absolutely - I prefer it =)
Is there a foolproof way to tell what type of lavender I have? I was gifted some saved seed heads and have successfully started some nice looking plants. They are currently 4-5” tall. I’m trying to decide if they will be perennials in my zone! (5a) This will determine their placement.
I was listening to your video while sowing seeds; approx how long from germination till bloom for lavenders? Hopefully you did not state this already!
Most lavender will bloom the first year! Certainly the English lavender in this video always do for us =)
I'm not sure of a surefire way to differentiate very early on but once they put on a bit of size, you can compare them to images online.
Im growing spanish lavender and I'm getting conflicting answers regarding deadheading. Some sites yes, some say no. Can anyone help? I don't want to kill it.
I live in Bali and we have 6 months of rain in a year... I m😅ght have to put it under a shelter, but i definetly want to try
Good luck! Make sure to get a really well-draining container! =)
My only question is are you worried about high heat on the pot or fabric bag? I am worried about the roots getting torched.
It's a good question but I'm just not sure how to measure whether it's a problem! I know that's a bad answer but I want to be honest =)
It may be that they'd do even better with cooler roots, but I can say that the lavender in this video (and others) are still growing beautifully. We kept the one in the fabric bag in there (it's budding up right now, looks great!), gave away a few of the little ones in pots, and transplanted the one in the blue pot into the ground in our main garden (also doing great!).
In Egypt the sun is very strong, I always feel the soil is dry, is it possible to water daily?
Are you growing in containers or in the ground? Ultimately, you should let the soil conditions and the health of the plant dictate how much to water. We don't need to water lavender every day here but plenty of other plants need it on our hottest days =)
@@NextdoorHomestead the plant is healthy with daily watering, the soil dries so much that it cracks everyday, the lavender is in containers :)
What specific variety of lavender is this?
I'm afraid the labeling was rather generic. True/English lavender.
Hi! I grew 5 lavender plants from seed. 4 of them are in containers. 1 is in garden bed. I live in zone 3 which is to cold for the lavender to survive. How do i overwinter my container lavender? Thanks
Do you have a cool room in your house with available window space?
@@NextdoorHomestead Thanks for your reply! No, I only have a basement and i dont think its cold enough. I also have a shed outside but we get -35 here in Alberta Canada. The shed is not warm is not insulated but at least it protects against the wind. Do you think it will work?
@@NextdoorHomestead How cold should a room be to properly overwinter lavender? Thanks
can I start lavender seeds using sand is the growing medium?
I'm personally not a big fan of using sand in any of my mixes. It has a tendency to compact and harden. Just my .02 cents!
@@NextdoorHomestead thanks for the tip! blessings
So I planted like half the pack of seeds into one of those biodegradable pots. I have like 12 seeds sprouting right now. They are all just about to have two leaves, will they survive like this? I was going to put it in a 12 inch pot once the second leaves are established. I saw a video of someone planting multiple seeds in one pot so I thought that was the way to do it
Yep! You can repot them into something larger - just try to be gentle. I'm not a fan of starting lots of seeds into one big pot for this reason - they aren't going to like being untangled =(
@@NextdoorHomestead should I cut some of them?
@@drewjorde I'd transplant them all in case there are issues. Can always give away the extras =)
@@NextdoorHomestead I’m just scared they are going to kill each other being so close to each other. But thank you for the tips!
Do you water after feeding lavender?
I pretty much always water in after feeding, regardless of the crop! Good luck with your plants!
@@NextdoorHomestead thank you!!
So I have two lavenders, one is in a small plastic pot and then my other two are like little trees also in plastic pots and when I put them in the sun, they wilt and have lost color. I water them accordingly what is my problem?
Sorry to hear that! This one is a little tricky because wilting, depending on what it looks like, can easily be caused by too much water or too little. In my experience, potted lavender is more likely to wilt from too little water than too much but your best bet is to be pretty careful to manually check the feel of the soil before watering each time until you get an idea of which one is the problem.
It's also possible that the plants need a more gradual transition to wherever your moving them to. Although not as likely if they're from a nursery and not homegrown.
😊😊😉🙂
=)
Aloha! I recently got an English lavender from Lowe's. It's in a 6in nursery pot and wanted to switch to terracotta, what size should I use?
I would try to go with something at least 14 inches in diameter personally. They grow to a good size if given the opportunity.
I think you'll love yours!
@@NextdoorHomestead thanks! For some reason lavender are hard to grow here in Hawaii? Well that is based on what I've learned from a local group here, so I hope I can keep mine alive lol. It's also has flowers already, should I prune them now?
@@jofrecia I wouldn't prune them now, nope! I wish you the best - it's a pretty different climate than their native habitat but hey, that's true of a lot of plants we grow!
How do you use lavender for food?
Heya! I like it as a component in savory spice mixes myself. It's also wonderful for drinks (we make lavender green tea lattes and lavender lemonade) and as a baking component. Lavender butter is a simple way to incorporate into a dessert =)
@@NextdoorHomestead which part of the plant do you use for the lavender lemonade?
@@emilieriddle8753 Generally we use the unopened buds of the plant. Just be sure you're working with a culinary variety =)
@@NextdoorHomestead would that be the English lavender?
@@emilieriddle8753If you have the option it's a good idea to seek out a variety bred for cooking like Munstead: www.johnnyseeds.com/herbs/lavender/munstead-type-lavender-seed-943.html
7:00 - I'd never grow lavender in pit or bark mixtures. Lavender is not created for it. It may go fine for a year or two but then it will start producing organic acids (as a byproduct of decomposition), which eventually will kill your lavender. Root rot - I'd start with inoculating young seedlings with antifungal biologicals based on Bacillus subtilis. It really makes difference on lavender as much as on tomatoes.
Heya! Thanks for chiming in!
I think the impact of wood chip acidification is largely overblown based on the (admittedly little) available research out there on the topic. But it's a fair point - lots of growers (and very good ones) share your concern =)
I elaborated on this a bit in my video on filling up raised beds.
Happy growing!
@@NextdoorHomesteadthank you!
@@NextdoorHomestead"I think the impact of wood chip acidification is largely overblown" - it depends on wood type used. Not sure if it is supported by academic studies but from my own experience conifer bark produces a lot of acid (I use pH-meter). But there is way to alleviate it. Trichoderma biologicals, when used regularly, will decompose cellulose faster than acid-producing bacteria.
Who run Bartertown?
I just rescued 3 ! 😂
Do you have to transplant?? Why can’t I just put the seeds to grow in the pot I want to use??
You definitely don't have to! Seedling trays just tend to be easier to control and lead to better germination, healthy starts, and less loss from pests when the plants are small. I pretty much start everything in a smaller container to transplant when it's a bit bigger =)
Cheers!
I see, ok then. Thanks so much for the reply
@@rachelcassandra9 No problem! Best of luck with your lavender =)
Ohio weather is best for lavender
What about a empty Folgers coffee container
I think that would be a fun experiment! I've never tried it but if I did, I'd make sure to add *tons* of drainage holes and use the very largest can I could find. Generally, I think small containers are fine though! A smaller plant is always better than 0 plants =)
Yes you can use a coffee container.
You're pointing out don't use drainage materials while holding a pot that has no drainage bottom? 😊
The primary reason to put drainage material in the bottom of the pot is to ensure your dirt doesn't drain out over time btw...
Hmmm, I don't follow. The nonwoven fabric material of a grow bag has tremendous drainage; it's one of the primary benefits of the container type. And regardless of the intent behind adding a drainage layer at the bottom, it's demonstrated to be anti-productive from a root health perspective.
Idk man. I've been putting broken shards of terra cotta in the bottom of drainage style outdoor pots based on what my mother taught me back in the 80's, and they've always done the best for me.
I stopped using pots with no drainage (like you're holding in the video) a long time ago because they always seemed to get water logged very easily to me. I've drilled holes in the bottom of some when I really like the design, but with a drainage saucer underneath afterwards
Loved the video, but, you don't fully clarify why you should not add gravel / pottery shards at the bottom of the pot. I ask because indeed, this is very typical.
Thank you for watching! Here's a good article on why gravel layers are no longer recommended: extension.unl.edu/statewide/dodge/the-hard-truth-about-rocks-at-the-bottom-of-planting-containers/
@@NextdoorHomestead thanks!
My lavender died because I pruned too much when it grew too tall and I cut it too short 😢
Oh no! So sorry to hear that.
Going to give it another try?
Mine too. 😔
Peat is deposits of ancient plants, an important carbon storage place, and digging it up is not environmentally friendly. Coir is a better choice.
French lavender does not like cold winters.
Or store your seeds in the fridge...
Good tip!
I grow my in a empty coffee container.
Very cool recycling! Works well for you?
Really Good 🪴
Why thank you very much!