I grow it with no probem but my garden is just a big sand box. Theresa.

Claire,

It sounds like you are doing the right thing as it loves sandy soil, the poorer the soil the better, dont add any amendments either apart from keeping the soil/sand PH between 6.5 and 8.0.
Lots growing here in the Sandhills.

I grew mine at the other house on a hillside that previously had a bed with broken brick mulch. It was getting just a little bit of sprinkler spray occasionally, most of the spray blocked by big cedar trees.
I'm convinced the full sun, sloped location and warmth from the buried broken brick is what keeps it happy.

Sounds like this new sandy,rocky bed your creating is just the spot for it as well as purslane, lavender cotton, thymes,and ice plant. Under good conditions, purslane with its vibrant colored blossoms grows to three feet across and about 7" tall.

Provence and Grosso thrive here.
I also grow Lady, Munstead, Hidcote, Jean Davis, Twickle, Dutch Mill, Spanish, and Blue Cushion.

Ground here is red clay, but sloping. The lavenders like it the best that are to either side of my gravel sidewalk.

Here is a link that might be useful: new pictures of arbor, squash, lavender, etc

here's a few more pics of NC lavender. Please be patient...if a lot of folks view the geocities site it exceeds its bandwith for the hour and you have to check back later.

:-)

Here is a link that might be useful: my gardens

Gorgeous lavender, Granite. But, Asheville has different air from Sanford, cleaner and breezier, I imagine. So, I can't even hope to replicate what you have. Do you plant directly in red clay? We have it too, but it is highly compacted. My gardens are in raised beds.

Thanks for the encouragement, Dottie.

I added compost to the sand on the rock garden (in progress) and now I'm wondering if that is a mistake for plants like lavender. How does it get nutrients if it wants such poor soil?

peace, claire in sanford

Hi Clare,
I'm about an hour from you in Randolph Co and I have lavender in part sun. The soil is very rich from mulching and drains well. Started mine from seeds 3 years ago and it's doing quite well. Don't give up!
Evelyn

I tried a bunch of lavender spring 2003 from seed, but the only one that lived were a couple of plants I bought at Wal-Mart... Saved some of that seed in the refrigerator and still haven't gotten around to trying to start some again... needed to do more soil amending than I did, I think.

I believe it needed even more of a slope and even more lime than I put out to mitigate the clay soil here, and as I put other things in that border that DID make it (gailardia, Asclepias tuberosa), I may just try doing lavender in its own little spot the next time and try making conditions perfect for just IT.

Granite, I looked at a few of your pictures, and I'll call you Yoda any time! :) Beautiful gardens do you have... YES!!!

:)
Jeff

I'm trying to remember, but I can't say that I had any experience in growing lavender at the time I planted the lavender bushes in my new flower bed in 1995. Given the scope of the change I was making in the yard (going from no flower beds to creating a front yard flower bed of >2,000 sq ft) the "beds" were nothing more than a thick layer of mulch put down directly over the killed sod......no amendments, no roto-till....nothing. My original plants were plunked down into holes carved through the sod and chopped into the worst, hard, unforgiving red clay you have ever seen (and I know you other southern gardeners have seen some red clay). I didn't know how big the lavenders would get...the little tag with the plants didn't say. So I bought one of every type of lavender that the local nurseries had to provide and planted them on either side of my new gravel sidewalk (inspired by pictures of English gardens with hedges of lavender on either side of a walkway). Some varieties didn't make it through the winter here in Asheville. However, 6 of the original lavender varieties are still chugging away in their spots, and cuttings from these are now scattered all over. If I'd only known then what I know now.... :-)

I've "refreshed" the lavenders on occasion by severe pruning. Provence, in particular, gets large and leggy and woody and will "splay" open as it gets older. The unevenness of this isn't as attractive as a younger, smaller bush, but the plant will still produce lavender buds heavily right up until the point where the length and weight of the branches cracks the heart of the bush. I use "donut" pruning at that time, removing the center of the bush first (and taking cuttings to root) and piling dirt up around the lower branches of the outer rim of the lavender. After the center puts out 4-8" of new green growth, I then cut away the outer branches. Many of these outer branches will have rooted, so I'll plant them in another area. I've seen posts on Gardenweb that refers to lavender as a plant that lives only 4 or 5 years, but I have 6 plants that are 10 years old now.

The lavender likes full sun and no puddles. I'm growing it in red clay, in nicely amended composted soil, and in all the variations inbetween. The varieties of lavender that are fertile have produced seeds, which mainly sprout with success ONLY in my gravel sidewalk. I believe that both lavender and rosemary seeds require temperatures to remain above 70 degrees for germination. I think this is why my gravel sidewalk serves as a nursery for lots of seedlings of a variety of plants. I find rooting cuttings or rooting a lower branch of a lavender bush to be much more reliable means of producing plants of a good size and quality. I've had some hybrid lavenders come up here that I just didn't care for at all.

Anyway good luck with your lavenders: full sun, no fertilizer (unless you are growing them in pots), no standing water, and try gravel as a mulch on at least one side of the plant.

Thanks, granite, we couldn't ask for better tutelage on the growing of lavender.

A friend told me yesterday that she grows it easily in unamended red clay under full sun. I'm going to try one more time in the rock garden.

peace, claire in sanford

Good drainage, poor soil (good soil is bad for lavender), and full sun. These will make lavender happy. As for your climate, I'd stick with spanish lavenders until you get some success then add in intermedia cultivars as you get your technique down. The spanish will take the heat and humidity much much better than other lavenders.

I don't have any problem growing my lavender but it never blooms for me. Any idea why that is?

Cindy

Hello, i was just wondering if any of you have tried growing them from seed. About 2 weeks ago a sowed two different kinds (Hidcote and L. stoechas)and some of them are starting to sprout. What should i do with them? Thanks

Yes, bigrufus, Spanish lavender is the one I've had moderate success with. It's starting to bloom now in my new rock garden setting, sun and well-drained, poor soil. I've given up trying to be "granite."

BTW, what is the new lavender at Home Depot with flowers like Spanish Lavender and leaves that smell like rue?

claire in sanford

Hey pup!! Would love to see you at BB some weekend soon!! We have a lavender that is supposed to do well in our mugginess, but the name escapes me at the moment. I am having a time getting lavender to thrive, too, so know you are not alone in this. I think the challenge for these plants around here is the combination of acid soil with poor drainage (also known as CLAY!!!) mugginess, heat, and evenings that just don't cool down that much. I consider them a short-lived perennial, and agree with the above advice that judicious pruning helps them from getting too woody, then splaying and splitting, and finally, croaking.

What doesn't kill us, or what we only kill a few times, makes us stronger. Didn't that German dude say something like that, hahha?? -amy

Here in Hickory I have had lavender for two years now. It's planted in a peat/sand mix and topped with sand, set in a rock-bordered slightly sloped bed. Started with small plants, and this year I trimmed it a bit and it's now showing new growth. First time I've ever had success with it. Also winter-sowed lavender this year, now have lots of seedlings, and am hopeful they will do well.
Granite, your gardens and lavender are gorgeous!
rosebush

I have some languishing in my herb bed. It's in light shade and good soil with poor drainage. It hates it there but persists and even blooms (sparcely). I know I should move it but sun is precious in my yard and I like it next to my herbs, so there it sits... -Ais.

Miss you Pup!

~Annie

Y'all keep "pulling me back in," as AL Pacino once said.

Amy, I'm planning on coming over to BB very soon, turncoat that I am, since I now work at "that other place in Sanford." Lavender is one of those plants, like a certain kind of man, that lures you back no matter how many times you get burned. It'll be different this time, right? Amy, you lavender pimpess you!

I have that new slopey rock garden with sandy soil that just might do the trick.

Thanks, Annie, it's nice to be missed...truly it is.

loveandpeace, claire in sanford