Lavender is a popular plant in the UK. Gardeners love it for its floral scent and charming purple flowers – but it can be challenging.
Often, lavender can grow leggy and spindly if not properly cared for. However, there is one simple switch you can make to your plants that will keep them thriving. If you want glorious, bushy lavender that is covered in flowers the best thing you can do is switch the soil.
According to Pike Nurseries, lavender thrives best in well drained soil. If you have it growing in pots in the garden, and it’s not doing so well you could try switching out the soil for a better draining mix.
Pikes recommends mixing potting soil, horticultural sand and cactus mix for a properly draining soil. This works because lavender naturally thrives in poor quality, high drainage soil that is rocky or sandy.
A common mistake people make with their lavender is adding too much fertilizer. This can actually reduce the number of blooms you germ so it’s best to ditch it completely.
Too much fertiliser will also make your lavender grow leggy rather than nice and bushy.
Another good way to ensure blooms on your plant is to keep up with your pruning schedule. Autumn is a good time to prune your plants.
Alexandra Campbell, gardening expert and creator of The Middlesized Garden, said the “absolutely best way” to prune lavender involves cutting it back severely to achieve more robust flowering.
It might be scary to cut your beloved plants abc this farm but it will yield results. English lavender should ideally be trimmed down to about nine inches high, leaving just a few green shoots on the brown stems.
She said: “This exposes tiny buds to the sunlight so they can spring up, almost from the base of the plant. And although the plants looked quite brown, they plumped up with new foliage in a few months. They made elegant grey mounds for the winter garden.”
