Okay... I am not really familiar with your climate, but they probably do need to be repotted. I think the reason for your success is that either the soil is gone, so there is better drainage, or the wood gives really good drainage. Lavender likes it hot and dry... I mean, 100 doesn't faze it. I know, California is that way all the time.... lavender thrives here. So, you need to give it drainage. I'd plant it in at least a gallon pot and put like maybe 1/2 perlite in with the soil... lots of drainage if you have high humidity and rain during the summer. It doesn't rain here in the summer, so that isn't my problem.
Hope this helps somewhat.

I agree with Heathen, you're going to need wider pots just to balance the top load.

Look at the amount of growth above the soil, and imagine trying to plant it upside down, with the roots above soil. Ideally, the pot you choose should comfortably accommodate the top bits. ie the root system will be approximately the same size as the top bits, in ideal conditions. Or to put it another way, the spread will be about the same.

And you've discovered one very important fact about lavender. They can take plenty of water, as long as the drainage is perfect. That's one thing you've done right! Lavender needs to be mature, and to be trained, to tolerate very dry, drought, conditions. It does very well here in the subtropics, where both temperatures and humidity are very high in summer, and we get frequent torrential downpours.

Cuttings up to about 10cm long can be taken from the new seasons growth and inserted into sandy soil. Cuttings taken from older sections of the plant with a heel are usually successful. Plants about 3 years old may be divided and replanted, but this is not recommended for beginners.

Dolomite can also be added to raise pH to 6.5-7.5 where required. In very severe winters, they can be taken indoors to a cool, very sunny position. Allow the soil to almost dry out in winter. Slowly reintroduce watering in spring. It will not do well indoors. As a rule, the poorer the soil, the better will be the fragrance.

I recommend that you take some cuttings from time to time, because lavender is a short-lived perennial, best replaced every 5-7 years or so. It will live longer than that, but it tends to become very woody and gnarled with age, even if you do prune it occasionally.

Thanks for all the help. I think my mind is going into lightspeed considering all you've said so far. lol

I did find a couple of the tags on the plants (hidden deep underneath), but the one says "pink lavender" and the other simple says "lavender." (I forgot that i bought three kinds. I'm telling ya, I've got a mind like a seive. LOL)

Oh, sorry about the lack of info on my climate. I assumed way too much. :) I'm in Philadelphia, PA during the height of summer. We're in our fifth heat wave of the summer, which around here is defined as over 90 degrees for three or more days, and it looks like this one will last for at least 8 days. Average for this time of year is 86, but I would have sworn that most of August gets above 90 anyway. We occasionally get summer showers or thunderstorms at night, but, even if it does rain (not all the thunderstorms give us rain), about ten miniutes later the sidewalk is dry. And, being stuck between the mountains and the shore, we generally have the three Hs - hot, hazy and humid. The safest time to plant without fear of frost is May 15th, and the first frost of autumn hits in October, usually in the middle. (I have pollen and ragweed allergies, so I also look forward to the first frost. That sure says at what level I am for gardening -- as amatuer as one can get. LOL)

I never conceived that the roots would be as big as the plants though! That presents a different problem. The lavender is all on the second from the top teir with a spiky variety of sage as the very top herb. Below them is dill (which grows like a weed anyway, so no problem), second year basil, and a small leaf, many tiny flowers variety of sage that also came from last year's planting. I suspect, all those roots are mixed together. I'm guessing I should probably transplant in September, towards the end of the season, but, during the transplanting, which of my other herbs should i protect by being careful with unsnaggling the roots? (Dill can be killed off and it will still show up somewhere in my yard next year.)

Also, the only poor soil I have is the bags of fertilized soil that I bought four or five years ago, when I first started gardening. Do they need both dolomite and perlite? And, can I get these things at Home DePot? (They don't have fertilizer for rose bushes there, so we also have to find a place that sales all sorts of fertilizer by next spring.)

And, since our home only has east and west windows, are they hardy enough to withstand living on our front porch (west windows) with no heat, and not much insulation, but it's never as cold as outside, since the sun heats it well? (Winter averages around 30 degrees during the day, 20s at night, but we're guaranteed to have a few days in the 20s and have been known in the past to go as low as 0 in the day time.) I've brought in herbs for previous winters, but they did better with a 75 watt lightbulb then they did with a grow light, and none have ever survived until Thanksgiving inside. (If you check out my website, you'll notice that the garden is "cared for" by stuffed animals. My luck has changed when they were brought into our home, so I'm crediting any gardening ability from them, since the best I seem to manage is "do no harm." LOL)

And, I hate being naive, but have read somewhere that they can increase by cuttings, but, despite having a father, who was always making cuttings of his Easter and Christmas cactuses, while I was growing up, I never paid attention to how you do it. I know it requires a glass, water, a sunny window, but where do you actually cut to, and what else don't I know about this?

I so appreciate all your help and I'm sure my lavender appreciates it more. My husband teases me when I start looking at plants to add to my garden. He says, in a quiet squeaky voice, "No, no, please don't let hER tke us home. Save us! Save us!" Truthfully, knowing that plants are alive, I do feel so guilty if they die, so I try my hardest to do what is needed. Lavender though, (along with a bonsai tree) has always been my dream plant to grow, and now that it's happening, I want to keep them for as long as possible.

Lynn

You do NOT need a glass of water to take cuttings, especially of woody plants like lavender!! All you need to do is to take the cutting, dip it into some pure honey, and put it into some dirt. Water it in, and sit back and wait. Take several cuttings at a time - some will strike, some won't. You'll soon learn which ones will or won't.

Honey must have natural anti-fungal properties? Have to give that a try sometime when I don't have perlite available...
I have 4 cuttings of lavender rooting in straight perlite right now... I used the same method this year for cuttings of shrubs and some creeping thymes, etc. that are now in regular potting mix...Bottom water to keep moist. Virtully no chances for stem rot when propagting cuttings in perlite. You can also use clean horticultural grade sand. If you try this way it is best to pot up to regular potting mix when the roots are no longer than 1 1/2 to 2".

Vera

Sorry for the delay...computer problems, then catching up on everything because of computer problems! Just wanted to thank everyone for helping me, and onelast question:
I bought three varieties of lavender, but only one actually produced any flowers this year. Any purpose in saving the other two types?

I have a web site that's generally not related to gardening, but includes a page on our garden, with pictures of the herb garden in the third column of pictures. The tags that I found on the plants just said "purple lavender," "lavender," and "lavender," although the leaves are different. Still, it does show what they look like, if it helps at all.

Hi -- can I ask a question too? I love lavender and have two plants that seem to be doing all right in the herb bed by my back door (I think they are Hidcote), but I'd like to plant more -- perhaps several different varieties -- in the front where they will be more exposed.

I am hesitant about trying this because I live in east central Arizona. Temps reach 110 in July (and down to 22 in the winter), and except for the monsoon season the humidity is of course very low. In the front, the plants would be receiving probably 6 to 10 hours (depending on where they were) of intense sun.

The plants that are doing well in the back are receiving much less, mostly filtered, sun, so I'm worried that out in the front they will just lie down and die. Do you think it's worth a try? Can you tell me which varieties do well in heat? Thanks!

Patricia

Lavender loves the heat, but some do not like the cold. I have had good luck with provenece, grosso (love that one) and munstead. It gets sometimes -20 here, but rarely as hot as 110. I do know that until they get established they need extra water, but don't like to have their feet wet all the time.

I had never heard about using honey to propagate them, am gonna try that one.