Okay, so, I’ve been getting into gardening lately, and I decided to try my hand at growing a lavender tree. I’d always thought they looked really fancy and smelled amazing, so I got really excited about it. I bought a small Spanish lavender plant from the local nursery. It was already kinda shaped like a small tree, which I thought was a good starting point.
First thing I did was find a nice pot. I made sure it was big enough for the lavender to grow into. Then I started looking into the kind of soil lavender likes. Turns out, it needs soil that drains really well and isn’t too rich. And it prefers soil that’s a bit on the alkaline side. I got a potting mix that matched those needs and mixed in some perlite to help with drainage. Then I carefully transplanted the lavender into its new pot with the soil mix.
Next up was figuring out where to put it. I learned that lavender loves sunlight. Like, a lot of it. So, I found a sunny spot on my patio that gets direct sunlight for most of the day. That seemed like the perfect place. When summer came, I realized that the afternoon sun was a bit too intense, so I started moving it to a slightly shadier spot during those hours.
Watering was the next thing. I read that you shouldn’t overwater lavender because it doesn’t like sitting in wet soil. So, I made it a habit to check the soil before watering. If the top inch or so felt dry, I’d water it, but if it was still moist, I’d wait. I also made sure to water it thoroughly, letting the water drain out the bottom of the pot.
Then came the whole shaping it into a tree part. I started by pruning away any low-growing branches to help it have a tree-like shape. And once a year, after it finished flowering, I’d trim the whole plant back. This kept it looking tidy and encouraged new growth. I noticed that the more I pruned it, the bushier and fuller it got.
After a couple of years, I realized I needed to repot it into a bigger pot. I chose one that was a couple of inches wider than the old one. I carefully removed the lavender from its old pot, loosened the roots a bit, and then planted it in the new pot with fresh soil.
- Choosing the lavender: Picked a Spanish lavender to start.
- Potting: Got a big enough pot and used well-draining, alkaline soil.
- Sunlight: Placed it in a sunny spot, with some afternoon shade in the summer.
- Watering: Watered only when the topsoil was dry.
- Pruning: Regular pruning to maintain the tree shape and annual trimming after flowering.
- Repotting: Moved to a larger pot after a couple of years.
It’s been a few years now, and my lavender tree is doing great. It’s grown quite a bit, and it looks and smells wonderful. Every time I see it, I feel pretty proud of how it turned out. It was surprisingly easier than I expected, and it’s been a really rewarding experience. I’ve even started experimenting with other types of lavender!
