Lavender at home: how to grow a flower in a pot, planting and care

The lavender flower represents the purity of the mountain air, the fullness of aromas and the beauty of the southern climate. Lavender bushes are easy to grow at home, following a number of rules - choose the proper type of soil, container, watering regimen, maintain the temperature. Inflorescences in the form of spikes, formed by whorls of purple, blue, white or red flowers, add color to the interior of the kitchen or balcony. Let's analyze the rules for growing lavender in a room.

Can I grow lavender at home?

By biological characteristics, lavender is a heat-loving evergreen perennial shrub, so lavender plants feel good at home, provided that optimal lighting, moisture and temperature are created for them.

In the family, lavender can be used and useful as an essential oil crop with a pleasant aroma and as a medicinal plant. Bouquets are placed in a crib with a newborn for a restful sleep, it is useful for older people to drink tea with herbs to normalize the heart rate and good blood supply to the brain. Lavender baths have a calming and rejuvenating effect.

Suitable varieties

The botanical genus Lavender includes about 50 species. The most common and suitable for growing in an apartment species:

• narrow-leaved, with elongated pubescent leaves and spikelets of pale blue to purple inflorescences;
• toothed, with fleshy serrated leaves like succulents;
• woolly - whitish leaves, covered with felt pubescence, tall inflorescences;
• broad-leaved - the most aromatic oil-rich species;
• multi-cut - triple inflorescences, leaves - fern-like;
• petiolate - tall peduncles with purple flowers, the whole plant is fragrant;
• Stahadskaya - pinkish-purple flowers on rounded inflorescences.

All of these species belong to the Lamiaceae family, which are widely distributed in temperate and maritime climates.

Varieties of angustifolia lavender

Seed producers offer for purchase lavender of domestic varieties Izida, Sineva, Stepnaya and Yuzhanka with flowering periods from mid-June to early August. However, at home, plants can bloom earlier, and with good care, produce flowering shoots throughout the year.

It is important to remember: in autumn and winter at home, flowering will not be plentiful, as with the arrival of spring and summer.

Of particular interest are the English and Dutch hybrids. The cost of hybrid seeds is higher, but the variety of colors and aromas is wider: Munstead (purple), Hidcoat blue (blue-blue), Alba (pure white), Rosea (pink), Grosso, Elizabeth, Havana (purple).

Wooly lavender varieties

Densely pubescent leaves allow plants to evaporate less moisture and tolerate periods of drought well, at the same time, this type of lavender does not tolerate waterlogging at all, and if there is moisture stagnation in the container, then the roots can get wet, which will lead to the death of the bush. The most common varieties are Richard Grey, Silver Frost, Sawyers.

Varieties of broad-leaved lavender

These varieties are both highly aesthetic and contain a lot of aromatics and essential oils. In room culture, the Royal Crown, Blue Cushion (gentle purple), Blue Ice (light purple), Christiana (blue-violet), Heavenly Angel (white) varieties are magnificent.

Varieties of Petiole Lavender

The upper petals, like a tuft, above the flower head give the impression of an exotic plant, many varieties of Stahad lavender are bicolor: Fathead - a dark blue spikelet with a scarlet tuft, Rocky Road - a purple spikelet with a pink tuft, Tiara - a blue spikelet with white crest, Kew Red - a bright red spikelet with a white crest, Lilac Wings - a purple spikelet with a pink crest.Monochromatic varieties are no less beautiful - Helmsdale - red, Snowman - white.

Growing conditions

In nature, wild lavender bushes are found on the sandy coastal plains of the Mediterranean, in the arid mountainous regions of Africa, Australia and India. The plant loves heat very much and does not tolerate stagnant moisture in the soil. Let's take a closer look at what conditions you need to create at home for the successful cultivation of lavender.

Flower pot

The root system of all varieties of lavender is deeply penetrating, pivotal. At the surface, the root branches, thickens and eventually becomes covered with a dense crust. Therefore, for lavender, you should take a deep pot, the minimum depth of the container should be 12-14 centimeters. It is necessary to select containers on the basis that the flower will stay in the container for at least 3-4 years. In shape, it can be round, square or rectangular pots.

Effectively looking vertically growing lavender bushes, planted at a distance from each other in elongated oval or rectangular containers. Bushes with drooping shoots are more showy in round or square pots. The color scheme of the container is also important - it is necessary to take into account the color of the flower and the details of the interior, creating harmony. It is advisable not to clutter up the room with lavender with other flowers, otherwise the plant will not look advantageous.

Location and Lighting Requirements

To grow lavender at home in pots, you should choose south or southwest windows, where it is warm and there is a lot of light during the day. In winter, it is advisable to insulate the window sill; on cloudy days, additionally illuminate the culture with the help of a phytolamp. Lavender should spend at least 6-7 hours a day in the light in winter, at least 12 hours in summer. The room should be ventilated more often, but without drafts.

In the summer, the pots are transferred to the balcony or loggia, trying not to get direct sunlight on the tender plant, otherwise it may burn out. It is preferable to find a bright place for the container in the back of the balcony.

Soil selection

Lavender grows on alkaline soils with a predominance of sand, so be sure to add coarse-grained river sand to the soil mixture.

Important! When choosing a soil mixture, pay attention to the pH of the soil, it should be above 7.0.

If the substrate mixes on its own, then you should take garden soil, sand and peat in a ratio of 2:2:1. You can not take a lot of peat, because it has an acidic environment. On sale there is soil for cacti with a pH of 7.5-8.0, which has in its composition soddy soil, ceramic chips and biohumus.It goes great with lavender.

Basic rules for growing lavender on a window

For growing in a pot culture, lavender can be sown by seeds, root cuttings taken from acquaintances or friends, make layering or divide the finished bush.

Rules for sowing seeds

Sowing is best done in early spring, because at this time the plants show the greatest growth activity. The seeding depth is half a centimeter. A film is stretched over the container with sown seeds to avoid evaporation of moisture and drying out of the seeds. Shoots appear within 10-20 days.

Immediately after the emergence of sprouts, the film is removed and the plants are provided with access to light, ventilation and loosening of the soil. If the seedlings are excessively compacted, it is advisable to pick them up in separate containers.

Rooting cuttings

Shoots aged 2 to 4 years, with bark, root well in water or sandy substrate. To do this, the stalk must be freed from the lower leaves and placed in a container with clean water or the lower end should be powdered in Kornevin or KorneStim powder, and then planted in a substrate, deepened by 2-3 centimeters. Cuttings can be stored in the refrigerator for about a month.

Propagation by layering

If you have a lavender bush in mind that you would like to propagate, then one of the old branches that deviate down to the soil can be sprinkled with a substrate, and after 3-4 weeks, carefully cut off from the mother bush, dig up with a root and transfer into a new container.

Dividing the bush

Dividing the bush can be done if the plant is mature, and many well-developed shoots extend from its root, and the root itself has grown in a horizontal direction. In this case, the bush is carefully cut with a pruner along the root and seated in separate containers.

Further crop care

When grown at home, lavender needs infrequent watering, fertilizing and pruning. In addition, it is important to arrange "seasonality" - in winter it should be cooler and drier, in summer - warmer and more watering. Let's take a closer look at how to care for lavender at home.

Irrigation

In summer, watering should be no more than 2 times a week, moderate in volume. If the soil contains a lot of sand, then the soil in the container will noticeably dry out, but this should not be a reason for frequent and abundant watering.

In winter, watering should be once every 10-14 days, in small portions. The water should be at room temperature, you can not water the flowers with unsettled water coming directly from the water pipes.

Feeding

Lavender is responsive to potash fertilization. In summer, the soil can be fertilized with potassium s alt 5-7 grams, dissolving 0.5 liters of irrigation water. In spring, it is good to feed with potassium humate at the rate of 5 milliliters per 0.5 liters of irrigation water.

Important! Nitrogen fertilizers, as well as manure and chicken droppings, should not be given under lavender.

Diseases and pests

In containers, plants can be affected by gray rot. This fungal disease manifests itself in the form of a white fluffy coating that appears on the shoots. Over time, the plaque grows into a gray-blue mold, and the plants die.

In the initial stage of the disease, you can save the plant by spraying with Hom or copper sulphate. In the later stages, the drugs are of little effect.

Of the pests, spider mites can attack lavender, carried from the street by the wind or with shoes. If a light cobweb is visible on the shoots, this is a sign of the appearance of ticks that are not visible to the naked eye. Bushes will be saved by one treatment with Fitoverm.

Difficulties in growing

When caring for lavender, the most difficult thing is observing watering regimes. The plant does not like long periods of waterlogging or lack of moisture in the soil.

To avoid this problem, make it a rule to water the flowers every other day, and vary the volume of irrigation water depending on the temperature in the room. If it's hot, give more water and vice versa.

Harvesting

Spikelets are harvested at the moment of full disclosure of each flower, tied into small bouquets and dried in a suspended state on the balcony. Store dry grass in paper bags or cotton bags for no more than 1 year. Dried bouquets in vases can be used in interiors as dried flowers. The lavender plant for its beauty and benefits deserves to be planted in an apartment. Use our tips to grow it and reap a bountiful harvest of fragrant flowers.

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