How to Plant Lavender in Containers

4 Materials
$35
1 Hour
Easy

Lavender is such a pleasant flower to grow. However, if you live in a harsher climate, you may have trouble keeping it through the winter. Planting it in the ground may not be for you. Perhaps trying it in a container would be a better option. Mine rarely makes it through the winter in the ground. I have been treating my lavender as an annual, so I decided a container would be a better option for me.

Freshly planted lavender in a farmhouse tub. Choose a container that is fairly large as some varieties can grow up to 24" tall. This one is similar to mine. If you have the space, you could even try bringing it indoors for the winter. You would need to keep it in a very sunny spot.

Step 1: Prepare your container, drill several drain holes in the bottom. Lavender does not like wet roots. We used a 3/8" bit on the drill.

Step 2: Fill the bottom of the container with some pebbles or broken terra cotta. This allows the water to drain, but not too fast.

Step 3: Lavender likes loose soil that drains well. Mix 2 parts soil to 1 part sand.

Step 4: Enlist a cute little helper and fill the tub with your newly mixed soil.

Step 5: Remove your plant from the container. This variety is Hidcote.

Step 6: Loosen the roots of your plant

Step 7: Place the plant in a nice hole in your mixed soil. Space plants several inches apart.

Step 8: Pat the soil firmly around your plant.

Step 9: Care for your Lavender. Now, you must know what lavender likes for location. Place your lavender where it can get 6-8 hours of full sun everyday. Lavender can even tolerate a bit of drought. It must have plenty of sun though. An occasional nitrogen rich fertilizer will also help. Mulch is a great way to improve air circulation and help with growth. A light colored pebble or even straw is a great mulch for lavender. Do not over-water your lavender. Let it get dry between waterings, touch the soil to check for moisture.

Also, regular pruning, cutting the flowers back right at the base after the flowers open will promote growth as well. At the end of the season cut the plant back by half.

Enjoy your fragrant and beautiful lavender. If you enjoy farmhouse style, gardening, crafts or cooking from scratch, you may enjoy checking out my blog The Everyday Farmhouse!

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3 of 4 questions
  • Mary Dodge Mary Dodge on Feb 15, 2020

    What do you do with the tub in the winter?

  • Sharon Sharon on Feb 27, 2020

    I would like to root some lavender from cuttings. Should I pot my cuttings or root them first


  • Lois Lois on Feb 29, 2020

    How would this do on the very sunny, hot summers of South Carolina? Could this be covered with plastic in the winter when we get those cold, sometimes frosty mornings, making it like a greenhouse? I love the container idea as our soil is clayee.

    If that is such a word?

    Yes Kara is precious.

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  • Shari Shari on Feb 16, 2021

    Hello. I have several lavender plans, all outside all year long, most on the South side of my house, but some on the North as well. I live in Zone 5. All I do is cut them back when the blossoms go (cutting the blossoms first of course so I can use those, then cutting the whole plant back relatively severely.) I still have them, they seem impervious to New York weather, and I've never even thought of treating them as annuals. They're tougher than you think, I think!


    Shari

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    • The Everyday Farmhouse The Everyday Farmhouse on Feb 16, 2021

      Also, thank you for the tips!

  • Annie Annie on Feb 17, 2021

    Very pretty idea. Thanks fir sharing 🦋

    Annie

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