go to a nursery and buy a cheap water meter and stick the probe deep into the planter and water when it reads between moist and dry. Without leaves, keep them on the dry side. As leaves grow increase water to match the number of leaves. You will be surprised how slowly a large planter dries out. Bill

There has been a long thread going on in the Compost and Mulch Forum about what time of day to water. Somebody started the thread with the old wives tale that it is bad to water plants in the heat of the day. Several scientific types provided evidence that this is not true. One guy, who seems to be in the know, said it is important for some less sturdy plants, or young plants, to receive water mid-day when temps are really hot. The thread is entitled something like "Things My Mither Told Me". They all discussed overhead versus ground watering. I've long been a believer in ground watering. The reasons given for not using sprinklers, or watering from above, don't have anything to do with leaf burn. I have to water mid-day twice a week because of my schedule. I have seen no ill affects. By the way, desrtlvr, the Conchas are growing. There has been some leaf yellowing. I didn't know if that was a result of too little, or too much water. I opted for believing the plants needed more water. Seems to have been the right choice. Lorna

"Most gardening is simply done best in the ground.☺" For many folks, especially those unfamiliar with growing in containers and the unique set of growing requirements container culture demands, that is probably true :-) But not everyone has the necessary real estate or ability for inground gardening and that's where container growing comes into the picture. And you cannot equate inground gardening and its methods with container gardening and the different methods it demands. Using garden soil in that case is just not going to work well!! It is far too heavy and dense, with slow drainage and lack of pore space and necessary aeration, and the typical listed accompaniments, like compost or leaf mold, only exacerbate that problem. It is VERY difficult to assure necessary drainage and proper aeration for the roots of container plants in that sort of medium and a poorly draining medium will lead to stunting and lack of productivity, disease issues and even root rots and death. You CAN'T use just any soil and expect good results!! It just doesn't work that way! Anthony, I would urge you to read this thread carefully to help you understand the differences and with a greater understanding of container culture, then perhaps you will change your ill-advised suggestions :-)

I've given up on lavender in the ground. I now grow it in a large clay pot that I can move back under the porch roof if we're having a particularly rainy season and control the water it receives. I used to have one growing in the ground, at my old house, and it sulked and did nothing for 3 years until we had a summer of drought (summer of 2007 in central North Carolina) and it took off and flourished. Lesson learned. I only water the lavender in the pot occasionally. Even after first planting it, it didn't get daily watering. I kept an eye on it and only watered it when it showed signs of wilting.