It is feasible to grow lavender indoors with the proper lighting and care.
Consider attempting to cultivate lavender indoors. Even though this lovely herb isn’t a common houseplant, with the appropriate care, you can manage to maintain its health. Lavender should often be grown outdoors. Growing lavender inside is best kept as a backup strategy for the winter months when plants can’t be outdoors, even in the coldest climates where it isn’t hardy.
How should a lavender plant be cared for indoors?
Europe is the origin of lavender. These plants are prized for their aromatic gray-green foliage and fragrant lavender flowers, which are used to make perfume and sachets.
It might be difficult to grow it indoors, so use these suggestions to maximize your success.
Placement
Lavender needs as much light as possible to grow indoors. It will thrive in a south-facing window or somewhere with at least three to four hours of daily direct sunlight. To ensure uniform growth and flowering, rotate the pot every week. The lavender plant will grow weakly and spindly, stop flowering, and become more susceptible to disease if not given enough light. While proper ventilation and air circulation are essential indoors, avoid placing the plant in an area where it will be directly exposed to forced-air heat. 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit at night and 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the daytime are the ideal indoor temperatures from spring through mid-fall. Temperatures should be lower from late fall through winter, averaging 60 to 65 degrees F during the day and 45 to 50 degrees F at night. After all threat of frost has passed, it will be beneficial to move the lavender plant into a partially shaded outdoor location. It might be planted outside in a sunny spot in the spring. The plant, when fully grown, can withstand temperatures as low as 10 degrees F.
Watering
When watering, soak the soil completely and let it get just a little dry in between applications. Use your finger to probe the ground to check the moisture level. Rot can develop in the soil if it is overwatered or kept permanently damp. However, do not let the soil entirely dry out; else, the lavender will react by turning its bottom leaves yellow. In the spring, if the lavender is transferred outside, keep in mind that it will dry out more quickly and require more frequent watering.
Pruning
Cutting branches to collect flowers encourages bushiness by causing new growth to develop. If you want your plants to be bushier, occasionally tip prune. Be aware that branch tips are where blooms are created, and frequent pruning of the tips can restrict flowering.
Can lavender be kept in a pot?
These lavender plants are blooming ten weeks after planting, and some are even ready to be harvested.
To keep lavender plants healthy and thriving, mulch them with two inches of white garden gravel or turkey grit.
Author: Doreen Howard
There are fields of vivid blue scented lavender all across the Mediterranean coast and warm, dry inland valleys along the Pacific Coast. Lavender thrives in those kind of environments.
Many of us struggle through hot summers or chilly winters for six months of the year since we don’t live in a paradise. So, to get lavender, you have to treat it well. I do.
In gardens, lavender is infamous for taking its sweet time to bloom; it typically doesn’t reach its peak until the second season. A distinct situation arises when lavender is planted in containers. If you plant your flowers properly, you can begin to enjoy fragrant blooms in a few months.
According to my friend Rose Marie Nichols-McGee, an expert in herbs and lavender, it’s imperative to have quick drainage, alkaline soil, plenty of light, heat, and adequate air circulation.
She provided me with some important advice on how to produce lavender in containers, which I’ve used ever since:
1. Begin with large pots because lavender plants can develop into little shrubs in size. Twelve to sixteen-inch containers work well for this. To promote quick drainage, add pebbles or a few inches of Styrofoam peanuts to the bottom of the container. After you’ve filled the container, add a spoonful of lime to the potting mix. Place one plant in the middle of each pot, positioning it so that its crown protrudes an inch or so above the soil line.
2. Scratch a half cup of timed-release fertilizer pellets into the surface of each pot if the potting mix doesn’t already include them. I use triacontanol-infused alfalfa pellets, which are a slow-release organic food.
3. Cover the plant crown with a two-inch layer of turkey grit or white landscaping pebbles. White mulch keeps air moving, reflects light onto the plants for quick growth, and helps the plants dry up quickly after rain or irrigation so that the stems don’t rot. In addition to some garden centers, farm and pet supply stores provide turkey grit. It’s affordable.
4. Put the pots in a location that gets at least eight hours of direct sunlight every day; shadow inhibits growth and aroma. Put pots on concrete surfaces like a patio or sidewalk in cooler summer climates like mine to increase the heat from the sun.
5. Water when the soil (under the mulch) seems dry to the touch, and then soak the soil so that water freely drains out the bottom of the pots. Use a balanced water-soluble fertilizer to feed once every week. I use fish meal emulsion or compost tea.
6. Lavender pots can be kept for the following season during the winter. Bring them into an unheated garage or a wind-protected porch. Although it might freeze, potting mix is not a problem. Water plants every two weeks if the earth thaws during the winter to keep the roots moist.
Any variety of lavender will flourish in a container, but some are more appropriate than others. Fast-flowering varieties including Dwarf Blue, Munstead, Hidcote, Sweet, Sharon Roberts, and Lavender Lady maintain a reasonable size in containers.
When the lowest flower opens, trim the lavender stalks. Just above the initial set of leaves, make the cut. When dried, color will be more vibrant.
Early in the morning, gather the stems. When fragrance is at its peak, even after drying, the blooms will retain the majority of the perfume oils.
Keep pruning stems that are in blossom to promote more development. During the summer, plants might bloom up to three times.
For the richest color, dry lavender in bundles and hang them upside down in a warm, dark location. Additionally, more essential oils will be kept.
The Edible Explorer, Doreen Howard, is one of eight garden bloggers who post frequently at Diggin’ It. Doreen finds a way to grow anything tasty and unique in her USDA Zone 4b garden. She will give everything a try, including stinky durian. She previously served as Woman’s Day’s garden editor and frequently contributes to The American Gardener and The Old Farmer’s Almanac’s Garden Guide.
Which variety of lavender grows best indoors?
French lavender is the best variety to cultivate indoors. French lavenders flower for a longer period of time and can withstand changing indoor temperatures better than other lavender species. Select a smaller type that will fit easily indoors on a window sill, such as Lavandula stoechas ‘Anouk’.
English lavenders frequently do not flower to their full capacity when grown inside, whereas French lavenders can flower for several months.
Is it possible to grow a lavender plant in my bedroom?
Join us as we discover the greatest indoor plants to enhance the decor of your bedroom and enhance your sleep, from Jasmine to Aloe Vera, Snake Plants to Lavender:
Jasmine
White flowers on jasmine plants are tiny and charming. They emit a pleasant aroma that is frequently used as a calming essential oil.
According to studies, this smell can help you sleep better and feel less anxious. Jasmine plants thrive in pots and look beautiful in bedrooms. Put yours on the windowsill and give it regular waterings while it is in bloom. To avoid overwatering, you can allow the soil’s surface to slightly dry out when there are no flowers.
Snake plant
The mother-in-tongue law’s or snake plant is a natural air filter. At night, it emits oxygen that promotes restful sleep. It is also known to eliminate various hazardous compounds from the air, including formaldehyde, toluene, benzene, trichloroethylene, and xylene. This is a fantastic plant to keep in the bedroom because formaldehyde, which is frequently found in hairspray and can cause respiratory issues, can be harmful.
Valerian
The little pink and white blossoms on a valerian plant can make your bedroom appear lovely. Apart from the pleasant aroma, valerian herbs have been used for millennia to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders. It has been demonstrated that inhaling the aroma of valerian root helps with both sleep induction and sleep quality. Add a few petals to your bath or make sure to give them a good sniff before bed. Keep these plants on a sunny window sill because they require about six hours of sunlight each day.
Lavender
Everyone knows that the scent of lavender is a wonderful way to unwind. Lavender is ideal for the bedroom because research shows that it lowers heart rate, blood pressure, and stress levels. According to a study from the Miami Miller School of Medicine, the aroma of lavender in bath oil soothed infants and helped them fall asleep faster while also relieving the mother’s stress. Place your lavender plant on a sunny ledge with minimal watering because lavender plants need warmth and sunshine.
Lavender can be grown in pots for how long?
Due to the good drainage, all lavender plants thrive in pots and containers. However, some lavender cultivars are better suited to growing in pots than others.
The English lavenders (Lavandula angustifolia) are my preferred variety of lavender and are what I suggest for container gardening:
- ‘Hidcote’
- ‘Munstead’
Since both of these lavenders are English varieties, which are cold hardy to USDA zone 5, they can withstand colder temperatures and the pot can stay outside all year.
In addition to having the best smell of any lavender, Hidcote and Munstead lavender also bloom beautifully in the midst of summer.
The larger varieties of lavender, like “Vera,” which can grow 3 feet across and is therefore better suited to growing in garden boarders, can grow to a size that works great in pots without having to repot them too often because they stay a relatively compact size of around 12 inches (with annual pruning).
The majority of French and Spanish lavender varieties, include well-known types like:
- Borland pink
- ‘Anouk’
The appropriate conditions allow these lavenders to produce flowers for up to three months while maintaining a reasonable size that doesn’t overwhelm a pot. However, compared to English lavender types, the scent is less overt.
They should be brought indoors for Winter protection as they are not as cold-hardy as English lavenders and can perish in a severe frost.
While French lavender frequently dies after 5 years even in ideal conditions, English lavender can thrive for up to 15 years or longer with proper care.
What is the lifespan of a lavender plant?
In home gardens, lavender, a perennial, has been known to last up to 15 years. Growing lavender can be done in many different ways to lengthen life. A lavender hedge can last a lifetime with correct soil preparation, soil additives, drainage, pruning, winter protection, and harvesting.
Planting lavender in well drained soil with a Loamy mix of sand, clay soil & compost.
It is best to have well-drained soil that is a loamy mixture of sand, clay soil, and composted horse manure or organic matter from an old wood lot (south central Ohio). When planting, combine an excellent foundation nitrogen starter fertilizer with 2 handfuls of limestone (or a little amount of dolomite lime if using rock instead of limestone). Planting in containers won’t need any weed prevention. Use of a weed guard material, such as polypropylene or another naturally woven weed guard, is advised. Mulching using oyster shells will lessen the need for weeding. By using wood chips as a mulched bed weed cover, similar to traditional home gardening techniques, we brought a new approach to the production of commercial lavender this summer of 2014. For the first two years of growth, new little lavender gardens require a dose of nitrogen. Then leave the plant to flourish on its own while providing a small amount of lime each year to maintain a high PH, preferably 6.9 to 7.5. Using organic mulch materials that decompose, such as wood chips, will lessen the requirement for fertilizer year after year. Choosing an Angustifolia planting variety that can tolerate cold, wet winters is the toughest issue. The Munstead or English type of Angustafolia lavender would be the hardiest; they offer a lovely perfume to the garden almost all year long, even in the rain!
When to plant lavender?
Planting has been experimented with over a number of seasons at Peaceful Acres. In the middle of May, June, July, August, and September, we planted. All planting seasons have identical survival percentages, even though spring planting has established a more hardier plant than the fall months. The lower size, output, and second-year growth from a lavender plant planted in the latter portion of the growing season is the only drawback we have observed. Smaller fall plantings had more soil wash around the base of the plants, which caused the root system to be raised.
Winter lavender plant protection
For your Lavandula oil manufacturers, winter protection is crucial. “Grosso” and “Twickle Purple” are two well-known cultivars that Peaceful Acres produces. During winter ice storms, these plants may require a sheet covering the lavender shrub. When ice covers stems, leaves, and bases for several days, the most harm is done.
Lavender plants will only be protected by snow if there hasn’t been any ice buildup beforehand. Snow pack burn, as it is known among lavender producers, is a result of too much snowfall. This occurs when your plants are covered with many inches of snow for a period of time longer than a few days below freezing. ICE is the biggest worry! Once ice has built up on the branches, it will start to freeze the oil in the stem, which will cause the branch to wither.