Yahoo News Gardening expert shares simple trick to keep lavender blooming
Experts have revealed how you can keep your lavender blooming all year round by feeding it a simple homemade fertiliser. Lavender is a favourite among gardeners for its beauty, fragrance, and ease of cultivation, provided you know the right way to nourish it.
The prime time to plant lavender is in the spring months of April or May, which reduces the risk of frost harming its roots and allows the plant ample time to establish itself before the summer heat kicks in.
Gardening aficionado Stephaine LeBlanc, who founded Celebrated Herb, has divulged that while growing lavender might be straightforward, the most crucial aspect to ensure they remain healthy and blooming all year round is the application of the correct fertiliser.
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She advises: "Organic fertilisers, such as composted manure, worm castings, and bone meal, are excellent choices because they provide a balanced mix of essential nutrients and improve soil structure.
"These organic materials can be added to the soil or used as a top dressing to provide a slow release of nutrients to the plant's root zone.", reports the Express.
However, there are also cost-effective fertilising methods for lavender - including using kitchen leftovers.
Stephaine suggests: "Lavender plants do not require a lot of nutrients, you can still use some kitchen scraps to provide them with additional nourishment."
For those looking to give their lavender an extra boost, saving vegetable scraps like carrot tops or lettuce leaves to create homemade compost is an option.
Stephanie shared a handy tip: "Simply layer the scraps with dry leaves and grass clippings in a compost bin and wait for it to decompose into rich compost."
Banana peels are a fantastic addition to enhance the soil of not only lavender but also many other plants in your garden, as they're packed with potassium, one of the three main nutrients essential for plant growth.
All that's required is to chop up a banana peel and bury it at the base of your lavender to help it grow much stronger.
Moreover, Stephanie has provided a "simple recipe" for a homemade fertiliser that can boost flower production and improve soil quality, addressing the common gardening error of poor soil quality and drainage when cultivating lavender.
Stephanie explained: "This fertiliser provides magnesium and sulfur from the Epsom salt, alkalises the soil with baking soda, and supplies additional nutrients with the fish emulsion."
What you will need:
One tablespoon of Epsom salt
One tablespoon of baking soda
One tablespoon of fish emulsion
One gallon of water
Instructions: Mix the ingredients together in a large container like a bucket or watering can. Keep stirring until everything is fully dissolved. Carefully pour the fertiliser around the base of the lavender plant, taking care not to splash it on the leaves. Then water the plant as usual.It's important not to over-fertilise lavender, but giving it a feed when it starts growing can give it a boost, setting your garden up for the summer."
Stephaine stated: "It's important to note that lavender plants do not require heavy fertilisation, so use this homemade fertiliser sparingly, once every few months. Over-fertilising can actually harm plants."
