How to Grow Lavender in a Pot

Lavender is both a popular landscape plant and a popular herb. It adds color and fragrance to the garden, and with some special care, it can grace an entry, patio or deck, too.Container gardening extends nature to the concrete or wooden expanse of a patio or deck. Lavender plants will help you to enhance these often barren spots by providing privacy and bringing the fragrance of your flowerbeds to your back door. If you follow a few simple rules, container gardening can be as effortless as maintaining your perennial patch, and the design opportunities it offers for enhancing the look of your property will have you filling pots with lavender and your favorite flowers year after year.

Things You'll Need

• Lavender plant
• Large pot
• Potting soil
• Water-retaining polymers
• Newspaper
• Small stones or pot shards
• Mulch

Instructions

Choose a Lavender Pot

1. Select a container for your outdoor potted lavender plant that is large enough to accommodate your lavender plant, give it room to grow, at least 8-inches on all sides, and provide some extra soil for water retention.

2. Select a container that is light in color to reflect sunlight. In hot locations, this will help keep the plant cooler.

3. Make sure the container is sturdy and has at least a 1/2-inch drainage hole in the bottom.

4. Choose a container made of a sturdy material. All-weather woods that won't rot, or glazed ceramic are good choices

5. Look for pots that widen toward the top.

Prepare the Pot

1. Select a soilless potting mix for your container. If you want to cut back on watering, or have a very sunny location, add water-retaining polymers to the mixture. Lavender also likes the addition of a little lime, so sprinkle lime into the mix using the manufacturer's instructions.

2. Position the pot where you want it to remain permanently. The larger the pot, the heavier it will be when you fill it. To avoid having to move the pot after it has been prepared, place it as close to its final location as you can. Lavender requires at least six hours of sunlight each day and doesn't do well in open, windy locations, so pick a spot that is sunny and sheltered.

3. Line the inside of the pot with a layer of newspaper. This will help retain moisture and create some insulation from the heat and cold. Don't cover the drainage hole.

4. Distribute small stones or potshards in the bottom of the pot for drainage.

5. Fill the pot 3/4 full with potting soil.

6. Remove the lavender plant from its old pot and inspect the roots. If the plant is root bound, score the roots to encourage new, outward growth.

7. Place the lavender plant in the center of the new pot.

8. Fill the pot with soil to within a couple of inches of the top, making sure to cover the plant to its previous soil level. Firm it in place, tapping the soil to remove air pockets.

9. Water the pot thoroughly, and make sure that water is exiting the drainage hole. If it looks as though water is trapped in the pot, shift the stones in the bottom by inserting a narrow stick through the drainage hole until the water is released.

10. Place a 1/2-inch layer of mulch on top of the soil to help retain moisture.

Caring for Potted Lavender

1. Fertilize your potted lavender plant with liquid fertilizer every other time you water. This is necessary because prepared potting mixes are very porous and lose nutrients quickly.

2. Check the plant frequently in the first couple of weeks to make sure it is receiving enough water.

3. Take special precautions when keeping containered lavender in areas that experience freezing winter conditions. French lavender can be overwintered indoors, while winter hardy varieties can be placed in the soil, pots and all, and returned to the patio in the spring.

4. Avoid placing lavender filled containers against walls, fences or in the natural L-shape created by two adjacent buildings. Lavender needs good air circulation in a spot that is protected from strong winds.

5. Keep lavender healthy by pruning back a third of the plant each year after it blooms.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to keep the newly planted lavender shaded for the first few days to let the plant adjust to its new location.

• Although French lavender is the best choice for container gardening, other varieties will do well when protected from wind and provided with regular watering and good drainage.

• Avoid clay pots unless you are prepared to water often. Clay absorbs water, stealing water reserves from the soil.

• Avoid pots with small openings

• For containers that you plan on using for more than a single season, steer clear of plastic. Plastic doesn't hold up to ultra violet light and will deteriorate more rapidly than ceramic, redwood or cedar.

• Never water potted lavender plants during the hottest part of the day.