Plant guide:ð Lavender
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Roots
Lavender Declining in Containers
Commonly affects: Lavandula angustifolia / L. x intermedia (Lavender)
A container-grown lavender grows poorly, yellows, or fails to thrive despite apparently reasonable care, in contrast to how easily it typically grows in the ground.
Potential Causes
- 1Standard potting soil retaining too much moisture for lavender's drainage needs, even more of an issue in containers than in the ground
- 2A pot without adequate drainage holes
- 3Root-bound conditions in a pot that's become too small over time
- 4Containers holding heat and moisture differently than garden soil, disrupting the plant's expected watering rhythm
Solution Steps
- 1Use a specifically fast-draining mix (cactus/succulent mix with added grit works well) rather than standard potting soil
- 2Ensure the pot has generous drainage holes and never sits in a saucer of standing water
- 3Repot into a slightly larger container if roots have become root-bound
- 4Water container lavender somewhat more attentively than garden-grown plants, since pots dry out and heat up faster, but still err toward under- rather than overwatering
Prevention Tip
Lavender in containers needs an even more aggressively fast-draining mix than lavender in the ground, since pots hold moisture differently than open garden soil.
