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Northwestern Gardening

to plant lavender in fall, when to start seeds?

17 years ago

(This is cross-posted in herbs, btw.)

We are in the midst of clearing our the last bit of detritus from our yard, which was overrun with blackberries until only recently. I suppose you could say we are "restoring" it but there isn't much left to restore! This spring we are digging paths, mulching, adding compost, and doing some minor planting.

However, in the fall we'd like to plant several perennials, esp. lavender. It does very well here, yes? (Willamette Valley, oregon - n of Eugene). Our hope is to plant lavender along our paths on the south side of the yard.

I am familiar with seed-starting, and bought two varieties that are meant to do well in our area - munstead and English tall. We'd probably plant more of the munstead along the pathways, as it's more compact.

My question is - should I start seeds now, and grow them as big as I can in 1 to 3 gallon pots, and plant them in fall? Or start the seeds later this year, to plant in fall? (From what I understand fall is the best time to plant here, to establish good root growth, and it's just the best time for us personally).

Thank you!

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Comments (3)

rocket_girl
17 years ago
Lavender should do great in the Willamette Valley.

I've had bad luck with lavender from seeds - it's not exactly the stongest germinator. I think my problem is that they apparently need strong light to germinate, and I'm not set up for that and the weather in Seattle doesn't really cooperate! I have gotten some to germinate, but the seedlings are slow growing and I eventually lose patience.

I would recommend that you buy small plants, if your budget allows. Little three inch pots are easy to come by and are cheap here in Seattle, and they grow up to gallon size in one year.

I'm having some success now with layering my older shrubs. I mound up soil on lower branches in the spring so that they are under the soil with tips peeking out, and then cut the rooted branches in the fall for a new plant. If budget is a problem, you might want to invest in a couple of big plants, and propagate them like this to get more.
JudyWWW
17 years ago
My experience with starting Munstead from seed is that it is highly variable in size and structure. It does not come completely true from seed. I you are envisioning a line of Munstead along your pathway you may be disappointed with the irregular shapes you get. I've been told that none of the named cultivars come true from seed and if you want uniformity you must either buy plants or start cuttings. Very easy from cuttings. jwww
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Hey Jenn: I think you'd probably start yours a week or two before I start mine, so I'd begin next week with some things like cole crops that take longer to get going: cabbage, cauliflower, etc. I begin to judge in August how warm it is relative to day length and then begin lettuces, arrugula etc. again. Usually between these two times I will start more asian veggies like bok and pac chois, mustards, kale and swiss chard. I'm not sure what you do with root vegetables. We sow ours in the fall with direct seeding beginning in August. GGG
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duane456
17 years ago
I have had some success starting seeds by the winter sowing method. (spanish and hidcote) Just transplanted about 6 or 7 plants from their one gallon containers.
Check out the winter sowing forum.
Duane

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