Plant New Lavenders Now

Plants like lavender and rosemary come from Mediterranean areas, and they can’t tolerate excessive summer rain, high humidity and poorly drained soils. The past twelve months or so have been unusually wet and humid, particularly along the east coast of Australia, and that’s why many gardeners have been struggling to keep their lavenders alive. Don recommends ripping up those dead and dying lavenders and replacing them with fresh new ones. Here are a few planting tips to get you off to a good start:

• If you live in an area with acid soil, add lime to the soil before planting
• Don’t fertilise – lavenders don’t really need or like fertiliser
• Water for the first month or so after planting, but then don’t water very much through the summer