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How Much and How Often to Water Lavender

gardener watering lavender plant

Lavender needs a differing amount of water throughout its lifespan. When it’s first planted, lavender should be watered once or twice a week. However, once the plant is well established, you can back off on watering. Usually, grown plants only need water every other week or even every 3 weeks.

However, once buds develop, you should return to watering every week if not more. Buds require a lot of water to develop. Therefore, if you want your flowers to develop well, you should ensure that they get the proper amount of water.

Yellowing leaves are a sign of overwatering. Therefore, you should keep a careful watch on your plants. If you notice yellowing leaves, it is time to back off on the watering. While these guidelines work for most plants, you should always listen to your plant first and foremost.

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Should I Water Lavender Every Day?

pots of lavender
Image Credit: congerdesign, Pixabay

No. Lavender does not need to be watered every day. It is a drought-tolerant plant, which means that it doesn’t need to be watered all the time like your other plants. Too much watering can easily lead to root rot and other issues. Therefore, we recommend that you only water your lavender twice a week at most. (However, most plants won’t need to be watered this much.)

Lavender needs the most water when it is newly planted. Until the plant is established, it isn’t as drought-resistant as other plants. Buds also need a lot of water to form. Therefore, budding lavender plants may need some extra water.

However, in the end, it does depend on your climate conditions. Therefore, it is best to follow these general guidelines for watering but adjust as necessary for your plants.

How Do I Know When to Water My Lavender?

You should water your lavender at least every 2 weeks once it is established. However, heavy rainfall will count as “watering”. Therefore, if it rains heavily, restart the timer. The soil should be dry before watering.

It is fairly easy to overwater lavender. Therefore, you have to be cautious. It’s drought-resistant and evolved to handle dry conditions. You don’t have to water it nearly as much as other plants out there.

Can Lavender be Overwatered?

watering lavender plant
Image Credit: Mostovyi Sergii Igorevich, Shutterstock

Lavender can absolutely be overwatered. In fact, lavender is very drought-resistant so it is pretty easy to overwater it. This plant is prone to root rot and fungal growth, which can seriously hamper its overall growth. We recommend taking it easier on the watering than other plants out there.

When lavender is overwatered, the leaves will begin to turn yellow. Furthermore, the bottom leaves may drop off. A rotting odor may also develop. The soil should be completely dry between waterings, which usually translates to between one to three weeks between watering.

With that said, in most places, it rains more than once every 2 weeks. Therefore, when growing lavender outside, you typically don’t have to worry about watering mature plants. However, younger plants and those that are newly budding may need some extra water.

What is the Best Way to Water Lavender?

close up person using a sprinkler hose
Image Credit: Steve DiMatteo, Unsplash

You can water lavender just like any other plant. It does not require a special watering technique or anything of that sort. Instead, you can simply water it with a watering can or whatever you have at hand. Despite some misconceptions, it’s perfectly fine to water lavender from the top. However, it is best to water in the morning, as this allows the leaves to dry before the sun goes down.

The most important thing about watering lavender is how much. The soil should be completely dry before watering (though not necessarily cracked). This ensures that fungus doesn’t grow in the pot, which can be troublesome for a variety of reasons.

Lavender is drought-tolerant, so it does fine in most circumstances with little water. In most cases, the rain should be enough to water most lavender plants, since it doesn’t require huge amounts of water.

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Conclusion

Lavender is a drought-resistant plant, which means that it prefers dryer conditions. For this reason, it doesn’t require as much water as other garden plants. It is very easy to overwater lavender if you simply follow the daily watering that most plants need.

Mature lavender that isn’t budding only needs water about every other week or so. Younger plants and budding plants need water about every week (or sometimes twice a week). Don’t forget to take rain into account. If it rains every week where you live, your lavender may never need you to water it.


Featured Image Credit By: Meteoritka, Shutterstock

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