Lavender is an evergreen dense shrub of the Lamiaceae family, originating from the Mediterranean region. This unpretentious plant was popular in ancient Greece and Rome for its decorative and healing properties.
The pleasant aroma of lavender is difficult to confuse with any other, and the sight of a flowering bush of this plant always makes a bright and unforgettable impression.
The origin of the plant speaks of its thermophilicity, however, even in the climate of the middle zone, lavender can be grown in open ground, since it is quite cold-resistant and tolerates winter frosts well. In addition, lavender grows well at home.
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Description
Blooming lavender angustifolia
In addition, thanks to the essential oils contained in the stems, leaves and flowers of lavender, lavender was used to repel mosquitoes and other harmful insects from human dwellings. Until now, lavender borders are used in garden and suburban areas to scare away pests from young shoots of a wide variety of plants, planting it around the perimeter of the site.
It is believed that the cultivation of lavender is fraught with serious difficulties, however, this is not so. If you want to grow lavender at home, you must meet a number of conditions, and there should be no problems with this crop.. These conditions relate to the choice of a place for a plant, the correct preparation of material for planting and the need to use top dressing.
Consider the process of growing lavender at home in more detail.
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Temperature and Humidity
Lavender is a plant that is subject to the change of seasons. Unlike many of its neighbors, such as calendula, which can grow and bear fruit throughout the year, lavender has pronounced periods of active life and rest. At home, the dormant period lasts 2-3 months and falls in the winter.
The optimum temperature of air and substrate during the dormant period of the plant is + 12 - 15 ° С
At this time, the plant practically does not show signs of life: in some cases, it can even lose all its green parts on its own, and a dozen stiff shoots will simply stick out of the ground. At the same time, the conditions of detention can be practically any - neither light nor watering in the full sense of the word is practically needed by the plant.
Of course, it is not worth exposing the plant to completely “Spartan” conditions during the dormant period; the temperature of the air and substrate of the order of + 12-15 ° C will be optimal in this case. Also, once a month, it is advisable to moisten the topsoil with water and loosen it a little to a depth of about 2-3 cm to ensure air flow to the roots of the plant.
Lavender in a pot
In the period of active life, lavender is a light and heat-loving plant.requiring sufficient moisture and nutrition. Therefore, the main requirement for the maintenance of lavender is a well-lit area with direct sunlight. Daylight hours for lavender should be as long as possible, the plant does not tolerate even partial shade. At a time when the sun is not yet enough, and the plant has already “woke up”, additional lighting in the form of fluorescent lamps should be used.
In addition, the plant does not like drafts., therefore, it should be placed in a room where there are no strong air currents, especially low temperatures. It is necessary to ventilate the room where the lavender is located with caution, especially during the off-season.
One of the important requirements for lavender is the competent regulation of the level of humidity, both in the substrate and in the air. On the one hand, excessive humidity adversely affects the life of the plant, on the other hand, too dry substrate or air can significantly slow down its growth. There should be no stagnant water in the pot, as this will lead to rotting and death of the root system; it is also important that a hard crust does not form on the surface of the soil, which prevents the roots from breathing normally.
Use for growing in a wicker pot
Even simple radiators can dry out the air enough to make the plant feel uncomfortable. If from the beginning of spring in the room where lavender is kept, excessive dryness of the air is observed, it should be somehow moistened. For example, putting a wet rag on the radiator or periodically spraying water in the air with a spray bottle.
Soil and containers
Lavender needs loose soil; it must be mild
You can use the appropriate purchased soil, or you can cook it yourself.
To prepare the soil, you will need the following components:
- sod land - 3 parts
- humus or compost - 2 parts
- coarse sand - 1 part
You can use another composition, however, it should be remembered that the use of peat is undesirable, since it is problematic to make slightly alkaline peat-containing soil.
The soil must be inspected and thoroughly mixed to get rid of large lumps. After that, it is necessary to carry out its disinfection: wash it with a solution of potassium permanganate 0.2% or bake it in an oven at a temperature of +120 ° C for 10-20 minutes. After that, the soil needs to mature for 2-3 weeks to restore the microflora.
Given the size of the plant's root system, the pot for lavender should be large. But this does not mean that you should immediately choose a huge pot; for a young plant, for example, obtained by cuttings or dividing a bush, the initial volume of the pot is recommended to be about 2 liters. Subsequently, the plant can be transplanted by transshipment into a stationary pot with a volume of 5 to 15 liters.
Lavender bush in need of a larger pot
Drainage in the pot is required; its height should be equal to about a quarter of the height of the pot, and it is best to make it from expanded clay. It is also necessary to use pots with enough drainage holes to drain the water.
Landing
Young plant outdoors
Material for growing lavender at home can be obtained in three ways:
- with air outlets
- by means of cuttings
- growing from seed
The use of one method or another depends on what is available, as well as on the time of year. Let's consider them in more detail.
Air layers
It is used at any time of the year, but most preferably in early autumn or late spring.. To implement this method of obtaining biomaterial, you will need an adult plant with sufficiently developed stems.
One of the old (last year or the year before last) branches is taken, the top is cut off from it, the place of the cut is dug in with earth and watered. After 3-5 days, it is necessary to fertilize this place with a complex fertilizer for flowers. After 2-3 weeks, roots will appear in this place, and a small sprout will form. Sometimes in the root zone of an adult plant, you can find 2-3 similar sprouts that have grown independently.
lavender sprouts planted in pots
The sprout is cut off from the mother's organism, transplanted into a pot and watered.
cuttings
The cutting is obtained from the stiff shoots of the current year. Therefore, you can get it only in the middle of summer. As cuttings, it is desirable to use shoots that do not have flowers or buds. If there are none, an escape with flowers is taken and they are removed. The cutting itself is cut at an angle of 45 ° at a distance of 3-4 cm from the ground level.
Growing the roots of the cuttings is carried out in a separate pot with special soil. Its composition is as follows: sod land, leaf land and sand in equal proportions. In addition, you will need some clean sand. It is advisable to prepare such soil in advance by disinfecting it in the manner described above.
rooted cuttings of lavender
The cutting pot is filled as follows: first, 2 cm of drainage or fine gravel is poured, then a layer of 1.5-2 cm of sand, on top of which soil is poured, not reaching 1-1.5 cm to the edge of the pot. The remaining space is covered with sand.
After that, the resulting mixture is carefully watered with water and the stalk treated with the rooter is inserted into the pot. A plastic bag is put on top of the pot to create greenhouse conditions.
The pot with the cutting is placed in a warm shaded place. During the week, the stalk is ventilated and watered daily. If everything is done correctly, after a week it will have roots and can be transplanted into a stationary pot.
Growing from seed
In order to ensure good germination of seeds, they must be stratified, that is, hold the right time at low temperatures. There are several methods of stratification, slightly differing in technical details. Of these, you need to choose the most suitable one.
broadleaf lavender seeds
You can use sand for stratification. To do this, you need to take a shallow container with sand, moisten it and put seeds on top. After that, the seeds are sprinkled with dry sand (with a layer of no more than 2-3 mm) and the resulting structure, wrapped in polyethylene, is placed in a refrigerator or any other place with a temperature of about + 5 ° C. In this form, the seeds should stay for 1-2 months. Already a month later, the germination of seeds in the first week after stratification is more than 75%.
Other methods consist in the same procedure of staying at a low temperature for 1-2 months, but cotton pads, rags or soil can be used instead of sand. Approximately 10 days before the planned end of stratification, the seeds should be taken out of the refrigerator for one hour at room temperature.
narrow leaf lavender seeds
After the end of the stratification process, the seeds must be washed and planted in a special substrate for seedlings. (in equal mixtures, turfy earth and sand, pre-disinfected, are taken). After that, watering is carried out, and the seed box is covered with a film. Seedlings need to be sprouted in a warm place with diffused sunlight. Further care for seedlings is standard - once a day it is watered and ventilated.
lavender seedling
After about 2/3 of the seeds sprout, you need to start the procedure for hardening the seedlings. For these purposes, the film on it is opened every day for an hour longer than the previous one. After 10 days of hardening, the film can be removed.
Seedlings ready for transplanting into large pots
Seedlings that have grown stronger can be transplanted into stationary pots without problems, while transplanting is recommended to be carried out with a clod of earth, in order to avoid damage to the roots.
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Care
Caring for the plant is quite simple and does not require any complicated procedures. The main thing in it is strict observance of the necessary conditions for keeping the plant, timely watering and fertilizing.
Watering
Watering lavender is carried out daily at the same time of day
It could be morning or evening. In this case, it is necessary to use only boiled or settled water for several days at room temperature. Do not overwater the plant. The main thing when watering lavender is to keep the substrate in the pot slightly moist.
Half an hour after watering, it is necessary to remove the remaining water from the pan. Once every 3-4 days, it is desirable to loosen the soil with a tool to a depth of 2-3 cm over the entire surface of the pot within 5 minutes after the introduction of moisture. In this case, it is advisable not to use wooden sticks or pegs in order to avoid entering a fungal infection into the pot. It is better to use plastic for this purpose.
Young plant in a stationary pot
In winter, the frequency of watering should be at least 1 week.. In this case, the top layer of soil is only slightly wetted and loosened.
Fertilization
Feeding the plant can be started from the very first weeks after planting the seeds in the ground. Starting from 3-4 weeks, small plants need to be fed once a week with liquid fertilizers containing potassium salts with a concentration of 2 g per 1 liter of water. These fertilizers are applied before the plant is transplanted into a stationary pot.
Mature plants are regularly fertilized during flowering and after pruning.
It is also desirable to fertilize in early spring. In doing so, remember the following rule: lavender does not tolerate organic nitrogenous fertilizers very well.
During the season, the plant needs two top dressings with mineral nitrogenous fertilizers: at the beginning of the period of active growth and after the plant has faded and pruned. At other times, nitrogenous fertilizers are not recommended.
The budding period requires the application of potassium or complex mineral fertilizers. These top dressings are applied at intervals of 1 time per week in the doses indicated on the fertilizer package. About two weeks before the end of the flowering process, they are stopped. And the second top dressing with nitrogenous fertilizers is carried out no earlier than three weeks after the cessation of potassium top dressing, carried out during flowering.
About a month after applying the second batch of nitrogenous fertilizers, a small amount of wood ash can be applied under the plant to lime the soil in order to correct possible soil acidification. For one pot, it is enough to add about a quarter cup of ash.
plant pruning
This procedure is important for lavender because it has a relatively fast growth rate for its green part. In fact, pruning is divided into three stages: spring, summer and autumn.
The main pruning is done in the summer, during the end of flowering.
It is made using ordinary garden shears. With it, branches are cut that have small sprouts on the sides. Cutting shoots must be done to the level of these sprouts. In this case, flower buds can be guaranteed to form on the branches.
Also, during summer pruning, it is necessary to cut the curving stems of the plant. They should be shortened to the lowest sprout. Naturally, during summer pruning, you need to rid the plant of diseased and dry shoots.
In fact, summer pruning is already harvesting lavender in the form of flowers and large shoots, on which no flowers formed this season.. It is best to carry it out 2-3 weeks before the end of flowering - it is during this period that the concentration of essential oils in the plant is maximum.
Spring pruning is done in late March-early April. Its main purpose is sanitary and in its essence it resembles cleaning. At the same time, dry, rotten and broken branches are removed. Spring pruning can also be done in two stages - first, unproductive shoots are removed, and then, about a month later, decorative pruning is performed, which aims to form the crown of the plant.
Autumn pruning consists in the final removal of faded stems. They must be cut to the level of the first shoots from the root.
In addition, once every 3-4 years, specialized pruning is carried out, which aims to rejuvenate old bushes. It must be carried out, since lavender loses its aesthetic properties over time: old woody shoots become bald, practically no new buds or flowers appear on them.
pruning lavender
In order to help the plant cope with this problem, it is necessary at the beginning of spring, during sanitary pruning, to perform anti-aging pruning. Its essence lies in pruning old shoots (which are more than 4 years old) to the very root. Such a procedure is designed to stimulate the formation of a new stem on the root neck in place of the old shoot. As a rule, it will appear already this year.
If young shoots do not appear in place of old shoots, then the plant has degenerated completely, that is, its life span has come to an end, and it needs to be replaced.
Some flower growers recommend completely depriving the plant of the deciduous part for the dormant period, leaving only stiff shoots a few centimeters long above the surface of the pot. This approach is not something special, since this is how lavender winters in the garden. The only question that arises at this stage is the aesthetic beauty of the plant in the winter.
If at this time you want the plant to rest completely, and you are not interested in its aesthetic qualities, you can do this.
Drying crop
The flowers and shoots of the plant obtained as a result of summer pruning require pre-treatment, which consists in drying and storing them for further use. Drying is done in a well-ventilated room, where cut lavender spikelets hang flowers down, pre-tied into bunches.
lavender harvest
After about a month of drying, the resulting material is stored in linen bags made from natural textiles.
In order to prevent moisture from accumulating, these bags should also be stored in a suspended state.
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In total, the genus Lavender has 47 species. Of these, 4 species are most widespread in cultural forms.
lavender broadleaf
lavender broadleaf
A perennial plant native to Southwestern Europe. Its other name is French lavender. Most likely, this species was the main one, from which most of the existing varieties later emerged, at least in Europe and the Mediterranean.
French lavender has a developed root system; despite the fact that it is fibrous, the roots can penetrate to a depth of several meters. The plant is quite cold-resistant, can withstand temperatures down to -20 ° C without shelter. With shelters, the temperature can reach -25°C.
All parts of the plant have a very strong aroma, and, unlike all of its relatives, the aroma is quite sharp and lacks the “refinement” characteristic of them. The flowering time of this species comes earlier than all the others; the first flower ovaries appear in early April. The duration of flowering is the longest of all: it continues in some specimens until the end of July.
The main purpose of this type of lavender is to obtain lavender oil; it is for this purpose that it is cultivated in the south of France and the north of Spain. In this form, the concentration of essential oils is maximum, so the percentage of yield in comparison with other varieties is very high. The pungent odor of the oil is usually reduced by various cleaning techniques.
At home, that is, on the windowsill in a pot, the plant takes root normally, however, somewhat worse than some of its counterparts. There are two reasons for this phenomenon: too branched root system and increased thermophilicity throughout the warm season.
French lavender has several dozen varieties bred for both industrial and decorative purposes:
- Tiara - flowers are large, up to 5 cm in size, bluish-white, yellowish bracts
- Helmsdale - the shape of the flowers is similar to the classic broadleaf, the color is burgundy
- Royal Glitter - classic blue-violet lavender with medium sized flowers
lavender angustifolia
lavender angustifolia
Also called "English Lavender" as several new cultivars were developed in England. The homeland of the plant is Greece and northern Italy. It is a perennial shrub plant with shoots up to 60 cm high. By the end of the first year of life, the shoots become stiff at the base.
The leaves of the plant are silvery-greenish with a characteristic grayish coating, it is difficult to confuse them with any others. The flowers are small, collected in inflorescences in whorls of ten pieces. In total, there can be several whorls on the stem, so the total number of flowers is quite large and they are very clearly visible from afar. It blooms for about two months, from July to August. The color can be different - from purple to blue or blue.
A distinctive feature of English lavender is a very pleasant smell, due to which it is very often used in various handicraft industries and traditional medicine without any additional substances or procedures. The plant has good adaptability and perfectly adapts to home conditions. Tolerates frost down to -35°C under cover. Seed germination persists for several years.
The varietal diversity of this type of lavender is also great; There are about 30 varieties of this species, the most popular of which are:
- Alba - a bush up to 50 cm high with medium-sized white flowers, blooms in June
- Rose - a bush of medium height, about 40 cm in height, spherical, lilac-pink flowers
- Hidcoat - several varieties of different heights, characterized by compact size and a fairly high density of both the green part and flowers; used for low hedges and borders; color - various shades from purple to blue
hybrid lavender
Lavender hybrid
It was bred in the Netherlands from a closely related cross of angustifolia lavender. The characteristic smell of lavender is present, but relatively weakly expressed. The main purpose is the decorative design of the plots.
It is a fairly large species; some varieties can reach 2 meters in height. The inflorescences are large, densely collected. Flowering occurs about a month later than the English variety. At the peak of flowering, the stems bend under the weight of large flowers.
Due to obtaining the necessary external qualities, plant breeding was not without some unpleasant moments. Firstly, the plant is less frost-resistant in comparison with the same English lavender, and, secondly, with an insufficient amount of mineral fertilizers, the stems of the plant look “bald” due to the small number of flowers.
Since much attention was paid to the decorative qualities of this lavender, many varieties have been bred:
- Traditional Alba with white flowers
- Arabian Night - dark colors predominate in color; it can be either dark purple or dark blue
- Richard Gray - a small plant with purple flowers
- Grosso - huge purple flowers on stems up to 1.2 m in height
Lavender jagged
jagged lavender
The species was obtained in Spain or North Africa. It is thermophilic, in addition, it does not tolerate frosts below -10 ° C. It has silvery leaves of all shades of green. The flowers are predominantly blue, large, with a slight odor.
The height of the plant rarely exceeds 1 m. The flowers are relatively large, their number is up to two dozen in an inflorescence on a stem. In our climate, it is grown exclusively as an ornamental houseplant.
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