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Ok, I'm in Hayward CA and I just recently (ok, yesterday) received my 12 english lavender "plantlings" (because they're plants BUT soooo tiny:)). They're about 3 inches tall and came with good (but very small and compact) rootballs. QUestion is, what now? How do I plant/transplant, where, how much water, etc. etc.! I just recently fell in love with lavender plants and I took a chance buying them online from a somewhat "shady" website (but they delivered!) for like 7 clams ($$) for 12 plantlings:). I couldn't find them locally that's why I had to troll online... I'm zone 8-ish/9-ish, you guys think I can grow them here? The plantlings look really healthy too. Any advice sure would help! Thanks!
Mine was in full sun where they got water about every 3 days.
If you get them going do a hedge of them, I had to finally take tons of cuttings and start a new hedge and remove old one because I was not cutting back far enough and became almost a tree at base and not as pretty, so this year will not get much bloom at all.
Where did you look locally? I don't think I've ever walked into a nursery around here that hasn't had lavender! (including places like Lowes, Home Depot, etc) Full sun is the best place for them. Once they've gotten established they won't need a ton of water, but until then they'll need it more frequently (I always recommend using your finger to test the soil a few inches down--if it's wet then don't water, but if it's dry then give it a drink). You'll also want to make sure it has good drainage, they don't like wet feet.
ecrane3, I looked at HD and Lowe's but all they had were the spanish lavenders and I did buy a couple gallons of those. The English Lavender is the elusive one that's why I had to scour the internet for it :). I like the flowers better than the spanish ones because they're more "lavender-like" and ok, CUTE. Plus the leaves on the english ones are more "succulent" than the ones we have around here. I guess what HD and Lowe's are selling are more hardy here in our area. Unless Dublin sells the english variety?
So when should I transplant my plantlings in the ground? Right now they're in those little biodegradable paper pots so it's easy to just dunk them in the garden pot and all:)
Thanks for the tip!
I used to like the English better too, but lately I've been collecting some more interesting colors of the Spanish lavender and I really like them. I've seen both English and Spanish lavender in most of the real nurseries around here, and at Home Depot & Lowe's too. I don't go to HD & Lowes' garden center that often so I don't know if they always carry them or if it's just an occasional thing. Or if you want to look online, there are a number of good nurseries that sell them so you don't need to take your chances with the "shady" place next time. Two good sources are http://www.highcountrygardens.com and http://www.joycreek.com
I would either plant them as soon as possible, or keep them in pots for the summer and plant them in the garden in the fall. The risk with planting them now is if we get another hot spell before they have a chance to get established it could be very tough on them since they're so small, but things like lavender can be a bit tough in containers because it's hard to get the right amount of moisture but not too much water. I know we've got a period of cool weather coming up so I'd be tempted to take a chance and plant them, but maybe keep one or two in pots for the summer just in case.
Here's a pic of one of my favorite Spanish lavenders 'Madrid Pink' back when it first started blooming this year
I don't know if you'll ever be able to keep lavender really happy in MS, but there are some types that deal better with humidity than others. I think the Spanish lavender (L. stoechas) which is the species in my picture is a bit better with the humidity than English lavender so you might consider trying it. You'll need to have perfect drainage for it though to give it a halfway decent chance.
Now that's a lovely lavender, ecrane! The ones they sell at HD and Lowes look so tired and washed out. Thanks for the link though, I'll be sure to check them out! And you're right about those dry and HOT spells we just had-- wayyy too hot! So I think I'll plant half of them this weekend and the other half will stay in little pots and just keep transpotting as they grow. I don't want all of them to CRISP up during our summer months and if last week was any indication of how summer is gonna be, I don't want to take any chances:) (I already lost a couple of my baby daisies to that 3-day scorcher!)
Right now they're in mostly peat medium... It dries fast so I'm going to transpot and transplant tomorrow jut to make sure.
