When it comes to knowing exactly how often should you water lavender plants the answer is pretty straightforward: once every 2-3 weeks for an established plant and once every 1-2 weeks in the beginning.
Lavender is not only a plant that looks gorgeous in any garden but it’s also one that doesn’t take too much of your time and attention.
Another important fact to know is that lavender is not invasive, even in this regard it doesn’t offer any complications or additional worry. It belongs to the mint family (Lamiaceae), which would make you think that lavenders will take over your garden but just the opposite is true.
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This It How Often You Should Water Lavender
The simple answer to how often should you water lavender plants is once a week or once every 2 weeks in the beginning and once every 2-3 weeks once the plant is established.
The more complicated answer involves talking about these different growth stages for a lavender plant in detail and how those different stages might influence the watering pattern.
The answer can also be influenced by another factor: whether you’re growing a lavender shrub in a garden or in a container or in a raised bed. All three are possibilities work, as it usually happens for the majority of plants.
Lavender Is Drought-Tolerant
When it comes to establishing how often should you water lavender plants, the one major thing that you must take away is that lavender is drought-tolerant.
Think of cacti and succulents, although it’s not as tough and it doesn’t have their water-storing abilities. Succulents and lavender can actually be planted together, they complement each other.
Moreover,
You can actually kill a lavender plant with excess moisture.
Just think that less is definitely the way to go in the case of this fascinating herb. Too much water can lead to root rot, drooping or wilting appearance, browning of the foliage, and it can eventually even kill the plant.
Should you water a lavender plant daily? Absolutely not. I’ll detail the complete watering habits that you must be aware of just below but just remember that daily is definitely not the way to go. You’ll simply drown it.
This is a plant that loves the sun, which makes it drought tolerant and it can survive a dry period with little watering.
Even through the summer months this herb can thrive without much care if it has more than 6 hours of direct sunlight, good drainage, and plenty of room to grow.
This is why it’s quite perfect for places where wasting water is considered a luxury – you can beautify the look of towns and gardens where water is scarce by planting lavenders because they’re definitely perfect for the conserve water mentality.
How Often Should You Water Lavender Plants Based on Growth Stages
- the time to baby a plant is always after planting and lavender doesn’t make an exception
- it might be drought-tolerant but it still needs help until it’s established
- the perfect combination is to give it a nice watering and then allow it to get a bit dry until you water it again, you can actually go by instinct with this
- the plant will require plenty of attention in the first 2 weeks after planting
- you should water it every other day for the first week after planting
- in the second week, you can increase watering to once every 3 days
- after those 2 weeks after planting pass, you can water it once a week
- once a year is up, the shrub is established and it won’t need water often – once every 2 weeks can be enough
- obviously, if it rains, you shouldn’t water until the soil is dry – in the summer, you only have to if there is no rain for two weeks
- a lavender plant that is planted in the garden doesn’t need to be watered throughout the winter, which is its dormancy period
- if you live in an area that receives heavy rainfall during winter and spring, you might not need to water it at all during the summer, unless it gets really hot
- if you bring it inside in the winter, you only have to water it once every 4-6 weeks
Regardless of whether you’ve just planted it or whether it’s already established or whether buds have formed, a lavender plant should be watered sparingly.
Lavenders are woody herbs that have high tolerance to drought and don’t need much water to grow productive and produce flowers.
That’s the main takeaway but there are more precise schedules that you can follow and I’ve talked about them above, in case you are the type that likes clear-cut information.
How Often Should You Water Potted Lavender
If you’re growing a potted lavender, you just need to ensure that the pot has holes at the bottom. But I’m pretty sure you’re already aware of that since it’s a requirement for most plants, including other herbs like basil.
You can also grow it in half-wine barrels, it will look awesome and the size is good for these shrubs that usually grow up to 3 feet in height, usually throughout a period of 5 years.
If your lavender is potted, you just need to give it a good watering once every few weeks, once every 2 weeks will be enough if you do it well. If it’s too hot, it might need watering once every 10 days.
Doing it well translates into letting the water go all the way down to the roots. You don’t need to water more frequently, you need to let the water reach the roots.
That might mean pouring a bit of water into the container, wait for a few minutes, and then pour some more water. You need to give it time to be absorbed.
Another thing that might be useful to mention is that since this is a herb that doesn’t require nutrients-rich soils, you shouldn’t be too concerned about finding the best fertilizer for lavender.
It’s not even necessary to use one but if you do feel the need for certain aspects, you should aim towards using an NPK fertilizer that’s lower on the N (nitrogen) and higher on the K (potassium). People use a fertilizer with a higher percentage of potassium to strengthen it for the winter.
Furthermore, an all-purpose fertilizer can be used when transplanting a rooted cutting into a larger container.
Lavender Plants Should Have Good Drainage & Good Soil
You could also draw the conclusion that lavender doesn’t need too much water too often from the fact that these herbs prefer a low-to-medium nutrient soil mix, a sandy soil is recommended.
That’s fantastic and makes absolute sense because sandy soil drain more readily than other types of soil.
Sandy soils have large air spaces between the particles, which allows the water to drain so well. It’s absolutely the best choice.
On the other hand, clay soils hold in more moisture because of their smaller particles that are clamped together. Soil aeration can be improved through the use of compost, a lot of organic matter must be mixed in.
You can also obtain the proper sandy soil for lavenders by combining sand or grit with potting soil or compost.
Good soil is actually the key to a successful lavender production. But it shouldn’t worry you excessively if you only have one shrub in your garden.
How to Water a Lavender Plant
The best method is to use a drip system or to water at the base with a wand.
That’s because overhead watering can actually lead to fungal disease. It might also split it and turn it woody.
Once the weather warms, this is not a herb that tolerates wet foliage well so, it’s best to concentrate on the base.
And that’s how often you should water lavender and how to it’s best to do it.
