Gardening tips: Expert on how to grow lavender at home
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Lavender is a Mediterranean native herb that requires very little maintenance in the garden. Once established, most varieties are beginner friendly, drought-tolerant, and long lived perennials that flower for years to come. However, this herb does not enjoy the same conditions as most garden crops. Lavenders preference for dry, gravelly, nutrient-poor soil sets it apart from other loam-loving vegetables and flowers. It even thrives on a bit of neglect.
Gardeners who want to grow lavender with an abundance of fragrant, beautiful blooms, they may be surprised by its soil and fertiliser preferences.
Organic gardening expert and former lavender farmer Logan Hailey said: “One of the biggest mistakes gardeners make is over-fertilising it. Many beginners dump on fertiliser at the time of planting in hopes that it will make their new plants spring up more quickly.
“While it may seem like you’re promoting a lot of healthy new growth, heavily feeding this herb with nutrients can lead to lots of leaves and no flowers.”
In fact, the expert noted that no fertiliser is needed to grow lavender except for some optional trace minerals. She said: “Contrary to most assumptions, fertilising can actually do more harm than good. Lavender naturally prefers poor soil with very few nutrients.
“An excess of nitrogen can cause too much foliage and few flowers. This extra leafy growth can lead to reduced airflow and disease issues.
“Fertilised plants tend to grow large and unruly, with low fragrance flowers or no flowers at all. Too much fertility can even kill a lavender plant, which is why products like quick-release synthetic nitrogen fertilisers are particularly dangerous for this herb.
“The only safe form of fertiliser is a small amount of compost that can slowly release minerals and nutrients over time.”
One of the reasons why lavender doesn’t need fertilising often, if at all, is because it can “thrive” with low nutrients. In its native Mediterranean habitat, it grows on sunny, exposed slopes in soil that resembles rocks and gravel.
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Logan explained: “In spite of the harsh appearance of the environment, these native plants bloom with great abundance and thrive in hot, dry soils. When it rains, the soil drains water very quickly and takes many nutrients along with it.”
Still, lavender enjoys low fertility and gets all that it needs from the rock minerals, scarce water, and abundant sunlight.
Microorganisms in these dry conditions “mine” away at the minerals in the rocks and slowly make them available to the plant. The expert shared that in gardens, “the best thing” to do is to try to replicate these conditions. Gardeners can mimic them by doing the following:
- Extremely well-drained soils
- Trace minerals (from rocks or amendments)
- Low amounts of water (allow the soil to dry out before watering again)
- No nitrogen fertiliser
- Optionally, small amounts of compost for a little potassium and phosphorus
It may seem strange, but lavender is one of those plants that really prefers to be left to grow naturally. The gardening pro added: “A hands-off approach is the best thing you can do.
“As long as you properly prepare the soil at the time of planting, it doesn’t need much else. Using fertiliser can disrupt its growth cycles and can send the plant into shock.”
Unlike most garden plants, additional nutrients cause undue stress to this lavender. When this herb is exposed to too much fertility in the soil, it may show symptoms of yellow, wilted or droopy leaves and stunted growth with flowers that won’t bloom or that have very little fragrance.
In addition, too much fertiliser can make the plant more susceptible to pests and diseases, according to Logan. Sap-sucking whiteflies and aphids can smell the nitrogen flush in the plant tissues and will come in swarms to suck up the nutrient-rich leaf juices. These bugs are particularly problematic when they spread diseases like Alfalfa Mosaic Virus or Xylella.
At the same time, the excessive foliage growth reduces the amount of airflow through the plant. Rainwater can sit for longer on the leaves and the inner portions (near the base and crown) can become stuffy and trap humidity. This lack of aeration in their branches leads to major fungal issues like Botrytis, Shab, and Septoria Leaf Spot.
If gardeners find their lavender plant is not growing as quickly as they would like, Logan suggested they add some soil amendments instead of standard fertilisers.
She explained: “These amendments work by slowly releasing minerals to the roots for uptake. They are best supplied at the time of planting, but you can also use them as mulches. Amendments help create the proper soil conditions for this perennial herb to thrive.”
Some amendments are primarily used to improve the drainage and aeration of the soil, but they can also provide trace nutrients. The most beneficial soil amendments are coarse sand, fine pea gravel, crushed limestone and perlite.
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