Is it possible to transplant lavender in the fall, when and how best to do it
Lavender belongs to medicinal aromatic crops. Used to obtain essential oil, healthy tea. Blue blooming fields of these flowers leave an unforgettable experience. Over time, the bushes grow, lose their compactness and beauty. There is a need for a transplant. It is important to decide how to properly transplant lavender in the fall, or better to do it in the spring.
Why are lavender transplanted
Any plant cannot grow indefinitely in one place; there is a need for a transplant. This can be explained by the following reasons:
- Plant growth slows down.
- The soil is depleting.
- The bush grows too much.
- It becomes necessary to move it to another location.
Good to know! If the lavender root hits an obstacle in the soil, it cannot go around it and the plant stops growing... A lavender transplant is done to ensure plant growth, rejuvenation and a lush, neat shape. When dividing large bushes, we get additional planting material.
When they do it
You can transplant lavender bushes in spring or autumn. An autumn transplant is considered preferable for the southern regions. In autumn, there is no heat, and more moisture in the soil, less watering is required. They do it in October. The plant will need at least 2 months for the roots to take root in a new place, and it takes root. This should happen before the onset of cold weather.
For Central Russia, where the plant needs to be covered for the winter, it is better to do this in the spring. If it is necessary to transplant the bushes in the fall, this is done in the last decade of August or in September, after the end of flowering. Then there is a chance that the transplanted lavender will take root.
Required tools
Transplanting requires regular gardening tools. First of all, it is a shovel. It should be sharp and clean. You can dig up a small plant with a pitchfork, while avoiding damage and pruning of roots.
A sharp garden knife and pruner will be useful. With their help, we cut off broken or dry branches and roots. To trim the walls of the planting hole and add earth to the roots, use a small shovel or scoop. A bucket and a watering can are needed for watering and dissolving fertilizers.
How to transplant a plant
Before starting a transplant, a number of preparatory operations are performed, namely:
- The landing site is determined taking into account the necessary conditions.
- Planting pits of a certain depth and size are prepared.
- Maintain the required distance between the bushes.
- Plants are chosen as neighbors that will form a beautiful composition with lavender and require the same growing conditions.
Let's take a closer look at all these aspects.
Choosing a place for a shrub
In the Middle Lane, in open areas, only narrow-leaved lavender grows, in the presence of winter shelter. It is also called medicinal or English. In the southern regions, such decorative species are grown as:
- White-flowered variety Alba.
- Rosea - blooms with pink flowers.
- Broadleaf French lavender Lavandula stoechas.
- Variety Butterfly has lilac flowers with long spike-shaped bracts.
Lavender needs light soils, not flooded with water from rain and melting snow, with deep groundwater. Areas should be illuminated by the sun more time of the day In such conditions, the plant will grow well and bloom for a long time, emitting a strong aroma. In shady places, there will be no long and abundant flowering.
Is it possible to divide the bush at the same time
There are conflicting opinions about whether it is possible to divide the lavender bush when transplanting. This method is undesirable for reproduction. This is done when the plant is dormant. Overgrown bushes require a mandatory transplant. They are divided into separate parts, which will give new planting material. The lavender bush extracted from the ground is lightly shaken off and cut into separate parts. To do this, use a sharp garden knife, pre-disinfect it.
Each division must have at least 6 shoots with developed roots and young roots. Their number depends on the size of the original plant. It should be borne in mind that small divisions after planting will give a small bush that will develop slowly. A large independent plant is formed from a large part.
Important! Cutting points must be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate, brilliant green or crushed charcoal.
Preparing for landing
Landing sites are marked. A distance of 0.3-0.4 meters is maintained between plants, for tall species it is increased to one meter. The depth of the planting pit is made about 30 centimeters. The volume depends on the size of the planted bush. The roots should be loose in the hole.
The bush is undermined with a shovel around the perimeter until you feel that it easily gets out of the ground. The soil is lightly shaken off the roots to identify diseased and dried parts. If necessary, the bush is divided, leaving 2-3 points of growth in each division.
Step by step process
In the center of the planting pit, a mound of earth is poured on which the seedling is installed. They are buried in the soil to the same depth as before transplanting. The roots are sprinkled with earth, watered abundantly, then soil is added, slightly compacting it, until the pit is completely filled. The trunk circle is mulched with dry earth or hay.
Before planting, the roots of the plant are cut by 15-20 centimeters. It is useful to dip them into a pink solution of potassium permanganate; you can use potassium humate diluted according to the instructions. This drug promotes root formation and disinfection.
Complex fertilizer is added to the hole, while remembering that lavender does not like acidic soil. At high acidity, ash or dolomite flour is preliminarily introduced. Lavender is a drought-resistant, undemanding plant, it is watered only in severe drought. Drying of the surface layer of the soil is permissible.
Newly planted bushes require mandatory winter shelter. The roots are mulched with dry peat, and the plant is covered with spruce branches on top. You can make a small frame and cover it with two layers of nonwoven or other breathable material. Before planting, it is necessary to perform sanitary and shortening pruning of the lavender bush.
Neighbors in the flowerbed
Lavender will grow beautifully in group plantings of 4-5 plants. Her environment can be roses. They are planted at some distance, since roses do not like rivals in the flowerbed.Marjoram, catnip, sage get along well next to lavender bushes. They will not only have a beneficial effect on each other, but will also create the illusion of a Mediterranean landscape.
Lavender bushes are always present in rockeries, here they coexist with rosemary, evening primrose, Byzantine purse. Its cold scale will be appropriate in a stone garden. Lavender scent will protect neighboring plants from aphids, which will be invaluable. Plants that like moist soil should not be planted next to it.
Blooming lavender, emitting a strong pleasant aroma, will decorate the garden and give it a unique image of the southern steppes. It will serve as protection against plant pests, and dried flowers and leaves will delight you with useful aromatic tea in winter. For all this, lavender will require a little attention.
