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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Compost Pile...

gardenwolverine

17 years ago

Well, my lavender as documented in the 'Is it Dead?' thread did indeed buy the big lavender farm in the sky. But there's a new development.

I'd been keeping the pot in the bathroom for the last week after the flood that was the final watering, with the intention to cut up the dead lavender and take it and the dirt and dump it on my garden. But when I pulled it out today to do just that...

..there's a new sprout! Specifically, of the sage that died a couple of months ago! I know that's it because when it started going downhill I buried pieces of the healthiest cut I made in both the sage pot and the lavender pot, thinking they'd rot and be fertilizer (silly me!). Its now out and under the light, but I still have to cut down the dead lavender. Question tho - since it sprouted in almost complete darkness with only a few minutes of light an hour, would the new sprout do better if it stayed there in the bathroom? How often should I water the new sprout? Keep in mind as well its in a well drained five gallon pot, and I don't plan on moving it to anything smaller because I don't *have* anything smaller.

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Comments (3)

Heathen1
17 years ago
Are you sure it's a sprout and didn't just die back for the winter? You can water sage fairly regularly too... you treat it like you would lavender. It would need as much sun as you can give it.
gardenwolverine
Original Author
17 years ago
re: the lavender - Yes, I'm sure its dead, the stems were brown all the way through. But in the off chance part of it will come back I left the roots - plus, I didn't want to disturb the baby sage.

re: the sage - the original plant was in a different pot, and died from spider mite infestation. This particular piece of stem was free of mites, so I buried it in the lavender's pot. I also dug down gently and found that yes, the sprouts (there are two) are coming out of the piece of sage I expected to break down.
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Daisyduckworth
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I reckon it was the water that resurrected it! The moisture in the bathroom helped it to survive. Too many people regard lavender and sage and their mates like cacti - which they aren't! They can take a lot of water, as long as good drainage is provided.

While it's growing, keep the water up to it, but don't overdo it. Use the finger test. Poke your finger as far into the soil as you can. If the tip of your finger comes out dry, give the plant a drink. Otherwise, test it again a day or two later.

It will need more light than it's getting. That little shoot will get long and lanky and horrible if it doesn't get enough sun. If you leave it where it is, you'll notice that the shoot will grow towards the light, seeking it out, and after a while you'll have a long bare stem with a couple of leaves near the tip - that'll be the bit that's getting the most light, you see.

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