Wintering Lavender Plants Indoors

Lavender plants love warm sunny spots in the garden so it is easy to think they will like the same conditions indoors.  The problem is the air in our homes is DRY.

Sahara Desert dry.  Growing in pots, lavender has a harder time surviving stressful conditions.  In your garden, their roots are below ground where it is usually much cooler than the air above.  The roots can go deep and usually find some moisture.

In the house, their roots are confined in a pot.  Not only are they susceptible to temperature fluctuations but if the pot really dries out they may wilt to the point of no return.  So how can you help your lavender survive inside?

1.  Provide light, but not necessarily direct hot sun.  I have a wonderful south facing window many of my gardening friends covet but the plants are kept 5’ – 8’ back from the window to avoid direct sun, which can be very drying to them.
2. Lavender does not like to be kept wet but neither does it like to be really dry.  Check the soil every day.  One of the simplest methods is to become familiar with the weight of the pot when it is wet and when it is dry.  Water the pots well then let them become nearly dry and water again.  I’m afraid there is no real formula for this unless you use a meter that checks the water in the soil and tells you when to water.  Quite a few seed companies sell these.
3.  Fertilizing.  As the plants are not usually actively growing at this time of year I don’t use any fertilizer.

This year I’m experimenting with pruning the plants I brought inside.  I’m hoping that if there is less plant material it will be less stressful for the plant in the house and they may not dry out as quickly.  The pruning also encourages new growth so the plants will be bushier.

In March or April, when the light intensity changes, the plants will begin to grow actively and if they are going to stay in pots, I’ll transplant them in to new pots with new soil.  I’ll also begin to use some liquid fertilizer when they are watered.

One of the delights of having lavender inside is rubbing the leaves and having the fresh lavender scent.  They are not as easy to winter indoors as geraniums are, but a little care and you can keep your plants year round.

Next time – using lavender in you holiday celebrations.

Plan a Lavender Year

Canada Blooms has drawn to a close for 2014. After any kind of winter, it is nice to be surrounded by flowers and trees and start thinking about the new gardening season. There were 2 lavender booths at the show. For several years now, NEOB (Niagara Essential Oils & Blends ) has had a booth showcasing their products and promoting their festival. This year they are having a Garlic and Herb Festival in September. They are unique in the Ontario landscape as their focus is growing plants they can distill for essential oils and they now have several farms growing plants for them. Their store is located just outside Niagara-on-the-Lake, about ½ hour from Niagara Falls, Ontario. One of my well-travelled girlfriends picked up some of their rose geranium soap and says it is amazing. Their web site is: http://www.neoblavender.com

 

Rebecca and Melissa at the NEOB booth.

The Ontario Lavender Association, a group of lavender growers, in Ontario had a booth for the first time. They had products from members and lots of information to share about growing lavender. They have a new initiative for the next 2 years – The Purple Road – to promote the lavender farms in Ontario. They have produced a lovely guide and I can’t wait to hit the road this summer. Visit the site at: ontariolavenderassociation.org

Kevin Beagle of Weirs Lane Lavender, Anita Buhner and her husband Steve, of the Ontario Lavender Association.

Apple Hill Lavender

A few years ago I went to Sequim in Washington State for their lavender festival and conference. I hope I can go again because to see lavender growing against the background of the snow topped Olympic Mountains is a sight I will not forget. There was one other Canadian at the conference and although I was booked to fly from Seattle to Vancouver to Toronto, she was looking for company to drive to Victoria, BC. From there she was flying to Toronto. I decided to join her and we had a lovely drive and I had the chance to look for lavender around in nurseries around Victoria.

Friday, my mother and I went to One Of A Kind and who did I meet? This same lady, Jan Schooley! She and her husband, who is into Apples, are now growing lavender on their farm in the Simcoe area, south of Brantford, Ontario. They had their first booth at the show, filled with soaps, oil, dried flowers and even lavender hydrosols, which are not easy to find. Lots to see this year in Ontario.

Lavender Indoors

Snow is finally blanketing my garden. As much as I hate shoveling the stuff, it provides insulation for the perennials and protects the plants from temperature extremes. Today we have a windchill of -25C, while by Wednesday it might be around freezing. That is very hard on plants.

Each spring as I’m carrying plants outside I vow not to bring so many indoors the next fall, but I can’t seem to help it. I feel sorry for them! One such plant is a lovely standard orange hibiscus I’ve had for 6 years. I was determined it was not coming in this year. It takes up quite a bit of space in the south facing dining room. You guessed it – it was blooming beautifully this fall, so I removed it from the large 20″ pot it was in, cut the roots back with a knife until it fit into a 14″ pot and brought it in. It is doing very well and has been in constant bloom.

However, you are not reading here to find out about hibiscus. I also brought in for the second time a L. angustifolia ‘Munstead’. It is actually winter hardy, but I haven’t found just the right spot for it in the garden, so it has been in a container for several years now. When researching my book, I grew all kinds of lavenders in the house. The L. angustifolias really hated the dry air in the house, but this particular plant does quite well. Some of the L. x intermedias did alright – at least they stayed alive. In particular I have had L. x intermedia Silver Edge and L. x intermedia Goldburg winter quite successfully in the house. The south window has proven to be too hot for most plants, so they sit on a table, 4′-5′ back from the window. There are scented geraniums on the floor, but in sun doing very nicely.

In early November I visited Humber Nurseries. (They are located south of Hwy 7 on Hwy 50 near Brampton Ontario) They have wonderful greenhouses and are a great place to wander on a rotten winter day. One greenhouse is full of herbs. It has been a few years since I’ve had some tender lavenders in the house over the winter and wanted a few. I purchased three: L. dentata, L. stoechas and L. Goodwin Creek Grey. The L. stoechas is not looking very happy, but the other two plants look great. (I think I let it dry out too much and then over watered it)

L. Goodwin Creek Grey is one of my favorite lavenders. It is not frost tolerant, but if you live in a warmer climate can probably grow it in your garden. When I do talks I’m often asked for a variety that would suite someone who lives in an appartment and this one is perfect. It grows in a container and is quite happy indoors or out. It is easy to grow – treat it like a geranium. Good sun and let the soil dry out between waterings. In the photo here, you’ll see lovely grey foliage that is velvet to the touch and a light lavender scent. It does bloom, but they are not as spectacular as other varieties, so I consider blooms a bonus.

It was found growing at Goodwin Creek Nurseries – check out their lavenders on their website! (It is believed to be a cross from L. lanata, which in my experience is very hard to grow. Because it is a hybrid and not part of any other lavender family the name is just shown as L. Goodwin Creek Grey.)
Only 2 months until the garden shows begin!!