TIL I was watering my lavender wrong for a whole year

I kept wondering why my lavender plants looked scraggly and half dead near the base. Turns out I was watering them from the top like my tomatoes, and the leaves were holding moisture which gave them rot. My neighbor saw me doing it last spring and said they need dry feet and water at the soil level. Has anyone else had a plant that just needed a different watering method to finally thrive?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.iris1mo ago

My lavender perked up as soon as I switched to a drip line at the base. I lost three plants my first year to rot, all from overhead watering that pooled in the crown. The key for me was checking the soil a few inches down before watering at all. If it's still damp, skip it even if the leaves look a little droopy in the afternoon heat. Also, mixing in some gravel or sand into the soil really helps with drainage. Are you growing them in a pot or in the ground?

rose_young1mo ago

Actually that makes zero sense to me. I've grown lavender for years just showering them from above with the hose and they've been totally fine, maybe your soil drainage was the real issue not the watering method.