PP here, thank you so much for being so helpful. I will wait until Spring and keep reading up on this

A lot of mediterranean herbs - think lavender, thyme, rosemary - don't like really "rich" soil, which I think of as the kind you'd use to plant vegetables (one enhanced with compost, for example). They like sandy, drier, well-draining mixes. That said, I have rosemary, thyme, and lavender plants in pots that are doing really well - I used regular potting soil and just didn't add compost (I added compost to my raised vegetable beds). I water them less than I do the rest of my plants.

As for drainage, Virginia soil, for example, is known for being quite clay-ey. Clay generally doesn't drain well - it retains moisture. If that's what you have around your house, you'd be better off planting in pots or raised beds (which is why I use both).

Now isn't the time to try to find/plant lavender, although I've seen small plants for sale recently. If you wait until late spring, you'll find it at any garden center.

Lavender can over-winter in this region, depending on how severe the weather is. I had a large plant that survived several winters here, then succumbed last year. I should have covered it (I had in a previous year).

And I should say that even my "large" plant wasn't really bush size - it wouldn't have worked really well near my front door.

I know this thread is old, but i'm planning on planting lavender bushes near my front door.

What is "rich" soil, and what do you mean by good drainage? Sorry, just starting out!

Also where would you buy lavender bushes around here?

Thanks!

Sandy soil, good drainage and doesn't like rich soil. I tried and failed by providing it with rich soil, but it was not until someone spelled it out for me did my lavendar finally live and thrive.

They can grow here, but just know you'll probably have to pull them out & replace them every few years.

Anonymous wrote:Mine does well in the same location where my rosemary has survived 30 years; but it is not nearly as amazing as my Cali sister's yard of lavender. I guess it takes a microclimate. Buy a plant, put it in dry full sun location and prune it back every year. Give it lots of space b/c it doesn't like humidity. If you let it get woody at the stems it gets scraggly and ugly. So remember to prune it every year. Good luck!

I tried planting one next to my rosemary last year thinking it would do well in the spot. Started with a fairly large plant and it did not survive the winter. I have fairly clay soil, but the rosemary has done much better with it.

It is hard to grow from seed -- buy a plant.

I planted some last year in my front yard. They took a real beating over the winter, but they are starting to come back. I live in MD. The soil is like clay, but the area I planted is pretty well drained.

They won't get very big. I'm originally from CA, and the lavenders I grew there were huge over there.

I plant lavender, rosemary and bay laurel in containers. They are placed next to the south-facing brick walls of our house, on the patio. The lavender usually returns, but this winter did in the rosemary and laurel.

I plant lavender (for herbs) annually in container pots along with pots of other herbs.

Mine does well in the same location where my rosemary has survived 30 years; but it is not nearly as amazing as my Cali sister's yard of lavender. I guess it takes a microclimate. Buy a plant, put it in dry full sun location and prune it back every year. Give it lots of space b/c it doesn't like humidity. If you let it get woody at the stems it gets scraggly and ugly. So remember to prune it every year. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've not had success with lavender. I think maybe it requires a drier climate than we have here?

Lavender likes a sandy soil.

Yes, they need very good drainage. They like to dry out a bit between waterings. I planted one in a slightly raised bed last year, and so far it has been doing fine (survived winter and is growing). It's the cultivar "Provence", which I read does better than others in this area.

Anonymous wrote:I've not had success with lavender. I think maybe it requires a drier climate than we have here?

Lavender likes a sandy soil.

I've not had success with lavender. I think maybe it requires a drier climate than we have here?

Any tips on when to? What type? Plant or seed?