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Author Topic: lavender  (Read 12343 times)

Offline poka-bee

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Re: lavender
« Reply #20 on: February 27, 2009, 10:39:05 pm »
I still like to weedwhack the mints...cause it smells sooooo good on a hot summer day! ;) I have pineapple mint, spearmint, peppermint, chocolate mint (it's reeeeallly good in desserts!) apple mint, cat mint. Love those mints cause they are like a timex...take a lickin & keep on tickin!  J
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Offline Shawn

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Re: lavender
« Reply #21 on: February 28, 2009, 11:14:07 am »
Ive never seen apple mint.

Offline akane

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Re: lavender
« Reply #22 on: February 28, 2009, 03:26:12 pm »
I want chocolate mint.  I have orange mint, lemon mint (along with lemon balm which is a different species), and spearmint.  The flavored mints are usually varieties of the peppermint species.

Offline poka-bee

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Re: lavender
« Reply #23 on: February 28, 2009, 03:28:06 pm »
Akane, PM me & I can send you trimmings...If I send a handful I know there will be at least 1 that roots, then look out! J
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Offline BEH

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Re: lavender
« Reply #24 on: March 01, 2009, 06:25:05 pm »
Apple mint makes good tea too! Don't have to dry it just uses it straight from the garden.

As far as Lavender goes, I understand most like a limey soil.  My soil is dry and sandy but I still had trouble for years until someone told me to plant my lavender in a cinderblock. Did it and it worked like a charm.  Most of mine now is in raised beds with a cinder block end cap. When I planted them actually in the block they dried out too quickly.  I have never had much success with the Fringed Lavenders though, they are more tender and never last thru the winter.

Offline Mariongoose

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Re: lavender post 16 MustBeeNuts
« Reply #25 on: May 10, 2009, 10:58:16 am »
I never met a Lavender I didn't like.  My bees love it and my skipper butterflies can't leave it alone.  Lavender is extremely hard (nearly impossible) to grow from seed.  Of course the seed packets won't tell you that.  The good news is it is one of the easiest to propagate.  If you have rooting hormone (just a little packet from the garden store) you'll have a near 100% success rate.  Cut off a 3-4 inch cutting from your mother plant.  Strip off the bottom leaves leaving just a few leaves at the top.   Dip it in the rooting hormone, shake off the excess (too much hormone and it will inhibit growth) and then plant in a  potting soil leaving your top leaves sticking out.  I like to water from the bottom as it gets the roots to stretch down.  I don't let them sit wet though. I don't look for roots until I see new growth on the plant.  Usually lavender likes the worst soil in your garden as long as it gets sun, and good drainage.  Wet feet will kill them. They usually will need some water the first year, a little the second to help them get established.  The 3rd year unless you're in an extreme hot area, you likely won't have to water again.  I have never fertilized my lavenders, though some people will add bone meal to the plant.  Where I am, I'm unable to overwinter the delicate, spanish lavenders.  Those are the ones with the fluffy flower heads, and foliage that has a pretty, ferny look to them.  There are about a zillion others  I can grow in my area, and I think your Lowes or Home Depot should have them.  One of my favorite sites for lavenders is Goodwin Creek Gardens out of Williams Oregon.  They have an incredible variety, and have even developed thier own.  Their web site as a plethora of knowledge regarding lavenders and other herbs. My favorite treat is to buy one of their plant collections.  The plants are smaller than what you'd pay for at Lowes, but the variety is astounding, and you can get some very special plants here.
And another thing, (sorry I'm so long winded) I LOVE Bee Balm aka Monarda aka Bergomot. The fragrance is lavender and lemony at the same time.  It's vigorous, and next year you'll have twice as many plants.  Hummingbirds love it too.  I good one to plant near a path where people will bump into it.

Offline Natalie

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Re: lavender
« Reply #26 on: May 10, 2009, 07:51:01 pm »
Thank you for the great info.
I have some lavendar that has been doing well for the last couple of years and I just bought some more yesterday to add to it.
I love bee balm, just bought some more today. My kids gave me a gift certificate for my local nursery and I got to go hog wild today.
I bought lots of bee plants today. :)

Offline reinbeau

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Re: lavender
« Reply #27 on: May 10, 2009, 09:47:19 pm »
As many have said, lavender doesn't like a heavy, wet soil.  It does prefer a sweet soil, though, or neutral pH.  One trick to keep lavender over the winter in areas that get winters like ours (fluctuating temperatures then extreme cold, which leads to frost heaving, etc.) is to mulch around the base of the plant with one inch of builder's sand in the fall.   As the temps fluctuate and the soil opens around the roots (frost heaves) the sand will fall into the openings, keeping the roots safe from the extremes.  I'd tried to grow lavender for years here until I learned this trick - and now it lives through the winter for me just fine.  I'll never be able to keep those lovely frilly leafed varieties mentioned by another poster, but Munstead, Grosso, Hidcote and other hardy varieties are living well in my garden now!

It takes a lot of lavender to really influence the taste of honey.  My mother brought me some lavender honey from Provence once, it was to die for.  The beek had his hives set in literally acres of lavender, and timed the honey harvest to the peak of the bloom.