Can I use a cactus soil for lavender?
The first and most important step in growing lavender is choosing a suitable potting soil.lavender will be a miserable experience if you start with the wrong soil.
Many gardeners who try to grow lavender for the first time fail because they pick the wrong growing medium.Sometimes their attempts to solve the problem exhaust their lavender plants.
To make sure that you don't make the same mistake, we wrote an article that will examine the soil needs of lavender and the potting soil mix in which this herb will grow perfectly.
When lavender is neglected, it grows best.All you have to do is water and feed your lavender plants.Why is this happening?
There are dry regions of Europe and the Mediterranean where lavender has originated.Poor quality soil is found in those areas.lavender has adapted to grow with a limited amount of water.
If it is growing in a container, lavender prefers a soil that is loose enough to drain out the water.
The lavender will suffer if you have heavy clay soil.The opposite of what we are seeking is its high compactness and retention capacity.
lavender hates acidic soilsAny soil with a pH of 6 or less can shorten the lifespan of your plant or kill it at the same time.
Lavender likes a sandy loam soil that is well-aerated and rich in vitamins and minerals.
Gardeners use several potting soil mixes to grow lavender.Few are considered risk-free and reliable.
Potted soil alone doesn't work for the plant.It takes more water to drain than lavender requires.Potting soil mixes that are made to drain water faster than regular ones aren't enough on their own.
Before lavender can be grown, the soil needs to be amended.The lavender plant can be harmed by some amendments even though they can improve the soil.
Pumice can allow more air to pass through the soil.For this reason, it is mostly used to improve heavy soils for plants that like water.
Some organic matter can increase the drainage of the soil.This feature is problematic for a plant that is used to growing with a low amount of minerals.The organic substances can make the soil more acidic.
It is important to pick a soil amendment that can loosen the soil and increase its drainage without adding more nutrients to the medium.
Coarse sand and perlite are the best amendments that can achieve our goal.
Excess water can be discharged by both perlite and sand.
You need a high-quality well-drained potting soil to prepare the perfect soil mix for your lavender plant.
Cheap brands are found in nurseries.These are usually full of pests and have a bad texture.
We use Foxfarm Ocean Forest Garden Potting soil mix for our lavender and we recommend it to you as well.
Foxfarm has one of the best texture of all the soils.It has a pH of 6.3 to 6.8 and this is perfect for lavender.
If you mix two parts Foxfarm with one part perlite or coarse sand, you will get the perfect soil for lavender.
You can easily adjust the drainage of this mix by adding more perlite or potting soil.If your lavenders are getting dehydrated quickly, you can add more Foxfarm.You can either shorten your watering schedule or add more perlite if the plants look over-watered.
Instead of using perlite or sand, some gardeners like to combine equal proportions of cacti and succulents mix to create a suitable growing medium for lavender.
The cost of preparing this soil mix is higher than the previous one.We advise you to only use it when our standard mix cannot produce the desired results with the lavender species or cultivar that you are attempting to grow.The formula of this mix is just in case.
Fertilization is not necessary for lavender, but you can still use them to promote plant growth.
Too many vitamins can affect the life cycle of lavender.Too much nitrogen can stop lavender plants from flowering.
Compost can slowly release nitrogen into the soil, so you should choose a soil amendment that is low in nitrogen.
If you use Foxfarm potting soil, don't use any fertilizers because the soil is full of vitamins and minerals.
If your lavender plants grow too large, you can transplant them to prevent their roots from getting bound.
You need to double the size of the old container to use new potting soil.You don't want to exhaust your plants by moving them several times in a short period of time.
If the lavender plant's root ball looks healthy, don't disturb it during the procedure.
The container in which your lavender plants are growing is dependent on drainage.
Even if the soil is fast draining, excess water cannot escape from your plant containers.Slow-draining soil can be more dangerous than this for lavender plants.Water can cause irreversible damage to lavender plants.
Make sure your containers have the best drainage capacity by buying high-quality pots.Cheap plant containers can be harmful to your plants.
This is everything you need to know about growing lavender.Don't forget to share your thoughts in the comments below, and enjoy growing this herb.
Jad is an experienced indoor gardener.I am knowledgeable in plant biology.I started Herbs Within.com to share my knowledge with home growers.
When I repot lavender from the nursery pot, should I get rid of the old soil and put it in the new combo?Place in the old soil as well?
When you repot your plant, it is always a good idea to change the soil completely.The texture of the mix will be less firm because of old soil.