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| 4"pots of Hidcote Giant Lavendin |
Last week I lead a class on how to plant lavender in pots. I purchased plants, soil, pea gravel and pots so everyone could plant their own while learning useful information. Handouts described the what, where, how etc. Planting in container pots would require that a fairly small plant would be used. We can't plant outside until May without the danger of a late frost. And some people may want to try keeping an indoor plant all year rather than setting it outside. My plan was to use Munstead Lavender which grows to about 12-14" and is a pretty and hardy type. I was assured by the nursery last month that they would have some ready for me to pick up when the time came.
Ahh, the best laid plans of mice and men! When I arrived to pick up the plants it was evident that the Munstead weren't ready. In fact, there were none on hand. A tour through the hothouse was quite disappointing. None of the smaller varieties were ready. The propogated plants were not impressive, some a bit scraggly. It was understandable because it is not yet time for lavender purchases so the nursery was working on other priorities. Although I understood that fact, I doubt if the class members would be very happy to see the specimens. There was, however, one variety that looked fabulous, healthy, bushy and light green. Unfortunately it is Hidcote Giant - yep Giant. Definitely not the first choice for a container plant. Having no time to change plans, I had to decide between scraggly and giant -- I chose giant.
I explained to the class that it can reach a full size of 24" to 36" (emphasizing 24" part to minimize any thoughts of potting the teacher). My suggestion was to move to a larger pot 3 or 4 times or, better yet, plant it in the ground.
The size issue brought us around to discussing the possibility of bonsai lavender plants. I've not seen or heard of anyone doing them but said I would check it out. We also talked about trying to keep the Hidcote Giant in a pot and trying to limit it growth size by frequently cutting it back. So I am going to experiment with that and hopefully someone else will attempt the bonsai -- I don't have the patience for it.
Everyone went home happy and want to be invited back to future classes. A fortunate turn of events was that there were 2 master gardeners in the class. They are so knowledgeable about gardens and plants that they can make a class sparkle. Thanks to them we all learned a great deal.
If you have every heard of bonsai lavender plants, let me know.
PS: I was asked to put some photos of my shop at Shabby Chic Boutique on the blog but haven't been successful in doing so ... yet. I'll keep trying. In trying to set up a new camera software I messed up the old one and now neither are cooperating. Here is the url to see my page on the main website. 4 1 13
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