Gardening advice please

[Callie]

I have lavender which has self seeded itself in the pebbled area of my garden. I pulled some of these baby lavenders out & planted them into pots, watered them in & placed in a sunny position but they all withered & died. Can anyone give me any advice on how I can grow these young lavenders into strong healthy plants? Has anyone managed to do this successfully?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Leave it until October, then try.

[Callie]

Hi, why is October better, does it make a difference when I lift them out to pot?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Can' remember. Trawl The Telegraph gardening section, it had a piece about it.

[Callie]

Oh right,ok. haha, I take it you garden from the comfort of your armchair:))

[The Minkey]

If you pulled them out, it might have damaged the stem/roots. If they are as small as mine, then you need to hold them gently by the leaves while trying to scoop up an amount of soil around the root so as to cause as little root disturbance as possible. Also, if the pots were too big for the size of the plant, it may be that when you watered them, they drowned as they don't have enough root to soak up the water. Lavender likes a well draining soil. Adding vermiculite to the compost, 50/50, would help with drainage.

[The Minkey]

The reason for October might be that it's generally a good time for planting out shrubs and trees as they are not producing new growth so any energy would go into establishing the root system. It's also cooler and the ground would be expected to be wetter, so less problems with dehydration perhaps? Whether it applies to lavender plantlings or not..?

[Sue]

Agree with everything Minkey says.

If you're transplanting anything already growing in the open ground to another site in the garden (I realise you were putting them into pots), it's best to do it so the plant doesn't realise it's been moved. If you get enough soil around the roots so that there are no roots protruding at all, the plant will "think" it's still in the same place.

Watering before and after also helps.

And to add, usually lavender is very easy to propagate from cuttings, also taken around this time or a bit later. Start them off in small pots and don't pot them on until they are fully rooted. You shouldn't need to use a rooting compound.