Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: casper on March 04, 2012, 14:44
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Hi, I have sown some Lavender. I have tiny little shoots with some tiny little leaves. They appear to have taken although they took just over a week to show and I was a bit worried they had failed. Can anybody advise me what watering conditions they like. I have read they prefer sandy and drier conditions. Is it the same for delicate little seedlings? How wlll I know how much water to give them? They are Munstead type :unsure:
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Sorry think this sohuld have done on Genral gardenning :nowink:
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Duly moved :)
Don't let the compost become too moist, so no sitting in water, but the seedlings won't like it too dry either. I wouldn't spray them but water from the bottom.
Learn to judge the amount of moisture in the trays by lifting them up and assessing their weight.
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Ah thank you realised soon as I clicked the button. Thank you I will defo water from bottom upwards and keep an eye on the weight :)
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ive got some lavender seedlings on the go, i tried last year but only got 3 seedlings out of 20 seeds - 1 seedling died so now ive got two healthy lavender plants. however this year i sowed 20 seeds and got around 15 seedlings - only time will tell whether they will grow into mature plants!
ive been misting mine when the surface of the soil looks dry!
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Thanks Matt, Yeah I wonder if watering from the bottom soaks them too much. I started off spraying and it did no harm. As usual I sowed the whole packet of about 150 haha reckon I got about 20 so far but I can see lots of green dots on the surface of my soil so maybe more to come up so fingers crossed. If they all sprout I can always open my own Lavender farm next to the tomato farm :lol:
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Watering from the bottom reduces the chance of them dying from stem rot (damping off)
The ones I grew last year I kept in a cold frame over the winter so that they wouldn't get too wet: they survived very well (only lost one out of twelve).
Keeping them out of strong sunlight all day until they are established will also help.... I know lavender is a mediterranean plant but you have got to give them a chNCE!
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Thanks I didnt know about stem rot so will be mindful. I dont have a south facing garden but my pation doors allow light in but not intense sunlight. I have a little 4 tier greenhouse against the patio doors. I wonder if this is ok for seedlings. I only put it up at the weekend :unsure:
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The little greenhouse should be fine for lavender seedlings as long as they don't move straight from a very hot room inside. I start mine off in the utility room, which is very cool & then move them out to a plastic greenhouse (on south facing patio) once they are fairly sturdy. I keep a bit of fleece in the house, ready to put over the seedlings if we get any hard late frosts, though I find the greenhouse on its own is enough protection for a light frost.
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Thanks I kept them on the window ledge in the bedroom over the patio doors, so light and conditions exactly the same, but I can get more into the greenhouse than the window ledge ;)