Lets Conquer Lavender

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2009

Lavender is an herb that is loved for its fragrance and beautiful color. Plants can reach 1-3 feet tall with narrow, gray-green foliage. Violet or pink flower spikes appear in June through July. It is also to keep growing year after year in our zone, so let's take a look at some of the reasons why we can enjoy them from spring through fall, and that's the end of them. Winter comes and their green leaves are beautiful reaching out from the snow, but they don't make it to spring.

Lavender is grown profusely in southern France and why not. The climate is perfect, but we have perfect climate also. It thrives in bad, gravel laden, porous dirt, and we can support that too.

This wonderful herb needs 8 hours of the hottest sun of the day. It also needs sandy, well-drained amended soil. Prepare your garden with good soil dug 8 to 12 inches deep. Add sand, gravel, or stone for drainage. I added chicken grit and the 15 plants I put in have thrived by doubling in size and producing beautiful wands of purple flowers. After two years, and the plants are established, lavender is drought tolerant. Remember that growth may be slow and soft in heavy soils, but in well-drained soils and full sun, lavender will flourish. Deadheading encourages continued blooming. Prune in spring when new leaves emerge, and prune back to 8" every 3 years. This helps control plant size and robust growth.

Because lavender needs good drainage, Illinois clay needs to be amended: 1/3 garden soil, 1/3 sand/and pea gravel, or chicken grit, and 1/3 organic compost. It also likes alkaline soil with a pH of 7 to 8. For even better drainage, beds should be mounded and on a south-facing slope. That is the recipe for successful lavender growth. Mulching may help it overwinter successfully, and there lies a problem. Lavender should be mulched with non-organic material. It is susceptible to mold and mildew at its base. To eliminate this possibility, many growers use gravel or rock as mulch. The heat of the day reflects back into the plant, drying out any moisture. Some use white rock believing that the reflective heat produces more blooms.

Lavenders for zones 5-9 and hardy to -20 zero perish when the centers become moist and can't dry out. Winter thaws and heaving ground can be lethal for lavender. Be aware of the weather and check your plants. If they heave, a gentle push back into the ground will help. Proper mulching also helps. Hidcote Lavender, Munstead, Blue Scent, and Provence, all Lavandula angustifolia, meet our zone and hardiness requirements.

Lavender craves to be pruned, pinched back, and harvested. True lavenders (angustifolias) can be pruned in spring. Diligent harvesting promotes new growth and bushy habits. It also keeps the plants from sprawling and becoming leggy. Pinch back bud formation to allow energy to go back into root production. The second year plant will be larger and produce many times the bloom!

For additional information, check the U. of I. website, www.extension.iuuc.edu/ogle, or go to the Ogle County Extension office at 421 W. Pines Rd., Suite 10, Oregon. 815-732-2191.

The Ogle County gardening hotline, 815-732-2191, is available from 9 am until noon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from May 1 through Sept. 30. Master Gardeners will be available to help answer your gardening questions.