Hey everyone,
I recently got these beautiful lavender plants (picture 1), and they were looking great just a three days ago. I placed them in these hanging pots on my balcony railing (west-facing). I watered them two days before leaving, thinking they’d be fine while I was away.
When I came back, they looked completely dried out (picture 2). The stems still bounce back when bent, so I think they might not be entirely dead, but the leaves are dry and discolored. I’m not sure what went wrong or how to save them.
The balcony is west-facing and gets around 6-8 hours of direct sunlight in the afternoon.
I’m in USDA hardiness zone 7b.
The pots have drainage holes.
Any advice on how to revive them or prevent this from happening again? I’d really appreciate your help!
by winkywinky8
16 Comments
Don’t let them dry out to this extent! You said it yourself
Little containers in full sun can dry out FAST. Just water it more often. This lavender looks ok, it will recover.
💧 💧
Not enough water too much sun. Give them a good soaking move them out of the sunlight and wait you might be lucky. It would help to cut off what is clearly dead.
Theyre not supposed to be kept in pots that small. Look up proper pot depth for any plants you buy.
Lavender planted in the ground could tolerate this. Planted in tiny pots, it has no access to water when it needs it and the sun heats up the pot.
In the “before” photo they were already wilting and needed a good soak before you left. Like actually thrown in a bucket and left for 10 minutes if it was practical
Plants in post need daily watering to cope with wind dry and or sunny conditions.
Lavender loves water and some shade.
water
Too much sun. I know they say lavender needs full sun but it doesn’t.
My lavender used to die all the time until I put in an area that got shade 60% of the day and light sun the other 40%
Lavender seems to just be a difficult plant to maintain.
Try putting in a catch tray and watering from bottom every 2 days. When the water is all gone – time to add. Even best to do when you go to bed. Lavender dries and rehydrates itself so you’re not dead it’s just not a set it and forget it potted plant.
https://preview.redd.it/cdlh78v10e0f1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1098c398a796b3029b8baa3c9fd2298d858fe52c
……they dried out
Please put the basket on the INSIDE of the railing. You are dripping water on people like a jerk, and its going to fall on someone. Please. Just put the plant on the inside of the railing. Signed – someone whos lived in apartments most of their life
If you want them to not dry out so quickly they need to be in bigger pots. I could be wrong but it looks like you left them in the nursery pots they came in. More dirt = more water retention around the roots. You’ll still need to water them frequently if they’re in pots and getting 7+ hours of sun a day.