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Long story short I mistakenly bought a pot with no drainage hole, and it started turning grey from the bottom up after I watered it. I replaced the soil with fresh new dry soil, found no signs of fungus or root rot, and ripped a rather large hole into the bottom of the pot and have not watered it since (about a week) still no signs of bouncing back though. Tried to blot the excess water off of the root ball but I couldnt do too much without hurting the roots.
I'm still pruning silver stalks off the poor thing. The bottoms of all of the stalks have turned grey so I have no way to fully remove the grey sections without completely killing it off. The plant started blooming but I've pruned the blossoms too to keep the plant from divesting energy in flowers instead of repairing itself.
Any idea what I could try? The plant means a lot to me.
I think you’ve done about all you can do. I also think a week is too soon to see major recovery.
To illustrate, I left for a week in July, and the person who looked after my outside plants missed watering one time too many, and three plants looked completely dead. Two of them were, but I noticed the third one still had green stems, so I set it aside out of the sun and kept it barely moist. It took three weeks before I saw a new stem with leaves. It looks great now.
I’d treat your lavender exactly the same way. And don’t prune any more for now. Wait until you see strong new growth.
For insurance, try to start a cutting or two from healthy top growth.
Long story short I mistakenly bought a pot with no drainage hole, and it started turning grey from the bottom up after I watered it. I replaced the soil with fresh new dry soil, found no signs of fungus or root rot, and ripped a rather large hole into the bottom of the pot and have not watered it since (about a week) still no signs of bouncing back though. Tried to blot the excess water off of the root ball but I couldnt do too much without hurting the roots.
I'm still pruning silver stalks off the poor thing. The bottoms of all of the stalks have turned grey so I have no way to fully remove the grey sections without completely killing it off. The plant started blooming but I've pruned the blossoms too to keep the plant from divesting energy in flowers instead of repairing itself.
Any idea what I could try? The plant means a lot to me.
A week isn't long enough for it to recover. Patience is needed, just leave it be.
How long should I wait? Also, do lavender plants turn silvery when becoming dormant? I'm wondering if it might be that too. The sun hardly comes out from the start of fall to April. How often should I water it? Obviously not often but still, the soil right now is just about ready to be watered (root ball is pretty dry and starting to wilt).
It can take weeks for a plant to recover, any plant. You might read online about wintering lavender in pots. I don't grow it, so can't help, but do know that many plants have a dormant period in winter where they use much less water, and little fertilizer. Let the plant be your guide - it will wilt (or look bad at least) if it gets too dry. Dry means the pot is light and it's dry below the surface.
I winter over lots of things. Most work, some don't. One plant I've had for 35 years....
What are these zones youre mentioning? Im in NW PA right now by lake Erie (I know I know, horrible for lavender). It's in a pot right now with about 2 inches on the sides and bottom for growth. I'm in an apartment so no backyard to grow it in. Honestly this plant probably would have been fine if I hadn't bought a hole-less pot and realized that the root ball was wetter than the surrounding soil.
I'm wondering how much I should water it though, I dont wanna overwater it again. The farm I bought it from and home depot said to water it like I do with my cacti and succulents, drench it every 3 or 4 weeks or when it wilts. And by drench they meant like keep watering until it starts to come out the bottom.
We tend to soak pots, since much of our stuff is root bound. Soak for 10 minutes or so, but only when it's really, really dry.
Reason for soaking is that dried soil won't immediately absorb moisture, so if you just dump water on the top, it can flow around the edge and leave the middle dry.
What are these zones youre mentioning? Im in NW PA right now by lake Erie (I know I know, horrible for lavender). It's in a pot right now with about 2 inches on the sides and bottom for growth. I'm in an apartment so no backyard to grow it in. Honestly this plant probably would have been fine if I hadn't bought a hole-less pot and realized that the root ball was wetter than the surrounding soil.
I'm wondering how much I should water it though, I dont wanna overwater it again. The farm I bought it from and home depot said to water it like I do with my cacti and succulents, drench it every 3 or 4 weeks or when it wilts. And by drench they meant like keep watering until it starts to come out the bottom.
Lavender likes to be dry, and the soil in the pot must drain very well. Put the pot in a sunny location. Lavender can be grown in USDA Zones 5-9. Find your zone on a zone map like the one linked above.
Lavender leaves are naturally grayish-green to silver, so make sure you aren't mistaking its normal color for diseased leaves. There are different kinds of lavender, and I don't know what kind you have.
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