There is no doubt that lavender is one of the most beautiful plants mainly due to its colorful lilac flowers. However, although many associate it with the smell of clean clothes (because they use lavender-scented fabric softeners); or the gel that is used for the shower, in fact as a plant it is also very much used. The problem is that you can end up with faded lavender.
What happens in this situation? Can the plant be saved? What is the origin that made it become like this? If you have lavender and have seen it like this more than onceor he is dead, in the end you will understand the reason why this is happening.
Contents
how is the lavender
First, you need to know some facts about lavender. It’s a plant native to the Mediterranean, which grows both wild and cultivated. Another of the names it receives is lavender.
There are up to 60 species of lavender, but normally the one known as such is “Lavandula angustifolia“.
The most characteristic of this plant are its purple flowers and the aroma it gives off, which is unmistakable.
What does lavender need to be happy?
No one wants to wake up or go to bed and find wilted lavender. But it can happen, it’s not as difficult as you might think at first. And it is that many are wrong when it comes to providing the care you need.
For this reason, in summary, and before getting to the heart of the matter, you should know what care lavender needs.
- Location and temperature: It should be in direct sunlight for at least 6 hours. In terms of temperature, it tolerates both heat and cold.
- Ground: it needs an alkaline and not an acidic substrate, which is normal.
- Irrigation: It is not water demanding, so you can water once a week in spring and summer (more if temperatures are high) and every 15-30 days in winter.
- Subscriber: he doesn’t need it.
- Cut: This should be done in autumn-winter, cutting half the length of the plant so that it regrows in the spring.
Wilted lavender, what’s wrong?
Imagine you have a lavender plant. Suddenly, one fine day, you see that it is wilted, the leaves fallen, black in places, and the impression that it is cut down. In short, musty.
What happened? Usually it’s because suffered a situation that accentuated, that is, some care was ignored or was delivered inappropriately. It almost always has a solution, but there will be situations where you can’t save it.
Even so, the main reasons why lavender wilts are:
over watering
Although the lavender It requires regular watering, it should not be abused either. In these cases, you need to consider irrigation so that less is more. Or in other words, water but not too much every time.
He is better to have to water more often and add a small amount than soaking it too much and leaving it until you remember.
When there is an excess of watering, the plant “falls”. This is because it is flooded and it severely damages the roots of the plant, to the point that it can rot.
How to recover it? Touch the ground and if you see that it is very wet, the best thing to do is to take it out of the pot urgently, remove as much soil as possible and plant it in another pot with new, dry soil. This will put stress on the plant, and you may not see it recover at first, but it’s more likely to recover that way.
lack of sun
One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking that lavender can be inside the house. It is a plant that needs a lot of sun because it loves it and it helps it grow properly.
So, when it is lacking, the lavender seems withered.
The solution can be in two ways: either you take it to a room that is as bright as possible and where it receives direct sunlight; or you kick her out of the house.
Yes, a recommendation. If your plant has been inside the house and during the night you put it in full sun, you will see how black it is at the end of the day. Because? Because it has to be adapted, especially if it concerns young lavender. To do this, you must follow at least three steps: first, bring it outside in a bright place but without direct sunlight. There you keep it a day; second, you take it to a semi-shaded area and leave it for 2-3 days. And three, you put it in direct sunlight.
This way you will have more possibilities, especially if you catch the wilted lavender in time.
And, another important point is don’t think direct sun means high temperatures. Place it in an area where the sun but, because of its pot, does not “cook” it because then you would have more trouble (for starters, it would have to be watered more often).
Wind
Here we have to make a remark and that is that although the wind in the already adapted or older specimens does not affect them and nothing happens, the same does not happen if it comes to young plants.
To give you an idea, nothing will happen if your lavender is big and it is adapted to your climate (because you have had it for several years). But if you just bought it or haven’t used it for two years, it may affect it.
The wind will dry out the soil of the plant and can cause it to suffer from water stress. How do we externalize it? Get musty
The solution in this case will require some time. the first thing will be check if the plant really has dry soil. If so, water but not too much. Sometimes it’s a good idea to mist the flowers and stems a little as this helps them hydrate.
Obviously, it must be removed from this place because the wind does not favor it. Put it in a sunny place but where there are no drafts. And wait. Usually in a matter of 8-10-24 hours everything will be fine. But if it happened more often, it may take longer or not recover at all.
If you ever come across wilted lavender, you already know the main reasons why it happens, but don’t rule out pests and/or diseases that might be affecting it. Do you have doubts about your lavender? Tell us and we will try to help you.