5 Reasons You Must Know About Lavender Turning Brown

Every gardener wants to have lavender in their garden. But have your lavenders started to turn brown that ruins the blissful look of your garden? 

We can understand how frustrating that can be. It hampers the look as well as ruins the whole lavender garden. 

So, why is your lavender turning brown? 

Lavenders are drought-tolerant plants that have highly moisture-sensitive roots. Wrong soil and poor drainage can ruin them easily. Moreover, overwatering and higher humidity are also very harmful to them. Even though some plants are more frost-sensitive, all lavenders get affected by a late frost. 

Well, that was just the tip of the iceberg. We’ve got much more for you. So, stick with us for more insights. 

What Are The Reasons Behind Lavender Turning Brown? 

Lavender turning brown is a serious issue. How does the browning start? Well, your lavender plants will start to have brown stems. In some cases, foliage and flowers will also become visible.

If you see such signs, you must take care of your plants to save them. This problem can lead them to severe consequences. So, what are the reasons behind such a problem?

Here we’ve listed the 5 most probable reasons for this problem. Have a look at them-

Reason 1 of 5: Heavy Soil That Interrupts Water Draining 

Lavenders need porous soil that can drain the water fast. Heavy soil that interrupts the fast infiltration can hamper its growth. 

Even soil that has organic matter more than usual can hold onto the moisture more. That affects the growth of lavender too. Basically, lavender plants shouldn’t be given too much moisture around the roots. 

This water-logging leads to root rot which is a serious problem for this plant. This can kill your plant even. 

Solution

To solve this issue, transplant the lavender into a pot that has at least one ½ inch drainage hole. It’ll ensure faster drainage for the plant. So the rotten roots can recover. 

Another solution is adding 30% sand to the soil. So the distribution will be ⅔ part of soil with ⅓ part of sand. Dig at least 18 inches of the area around and mix the sand and soil.

Reason 2 of 5: Over Watering 

As we already know root rotting is a huge deal for lavender plants. So it’s quite visible that they’re very water sensitive. More water than they need can literally kill them.

Therefore, overwatering is very harmful to your lavender plants. This drought-resistant plant needs a proper watering routine to survive well. During heavy rainy days, they don’t need watering at all. 

Solution

You need to maintain a proper watering schedule for your lavender plants. But how? So, you need to know how much water they need. 

So here are the things that you should consider during making the schedule- 

• Newly planted lavender plants need watering 2-3 times a week. They need more water to mitigate the transplant shock. 
• Established lavenders need water once every two weeks.
• Lavender needs no water during winter dormancy. But if you keep them as houseplants, water them every 4-6 weeks.

Just follow these rules to water your lavender properly.

Reason 3 of 5: Poor Drainage During Heavy Rainfall

The biggest problem for your lavender plants is root rot. Its roots have been adapted to tolerate drought. Hence it can’t stay healthy in touch with moisture. 

Therefore, during the rainy season, they don’t need any watering at all. Moreover, you must take care of the drainage as well. If it rains heavily in your area, ensure proper drainage. 

Otherwise, rainwater will log around the root. As a result, your plant will start to turn brown. 

Solution

If the place you live in rains heavily, then arrange your soil with 50% sand or gravel. This will help the rainwater to drain quickly. 

Aside from that, you can shelter your plants during the rain. So the rainwater won’t get the chance of logging around the root. 

Reason 4 of 5: Intolerance to Humid Condition 

Lavenders have a high intolerance to persistent moisture and humid conditions. It’s hard to nurture lavender in highly humid places. More than 55 percent humidity is kind of too high of lavender. Anything less than that will suit well. 

But how can you check the humidity? Well, you’ll need a humidifier for this. But which one will be the best? Don’t worry, to ease your struggle, we’ve added this list. It contains all our best pick-

Just grab one. Our favorite products won’t disappoint you for sure. 

Solution

Allowing good airflow around your plants will help big time. The ideal distance will be 2-3 inches apart. You can put rock around the root as well which will retaliate the humidity. 

Reason 5 of 5: Late Frost In the Spring 

If Spring comes late and the frost lasts long, it can affect your lavender. Mostly the emerging flowers which are more vulnerable will get damaged. 

French and Spanish species are more vulnerable to frost. Hence, these plants get more affected by the late frost. 

Solution

This is a very serious problem as you can’t change the climate. Hence, consulting an expert will be the best option. 

So, try these ways to solve your lavender turning brown problem. Hope this helps and makes your garden a beautiful one. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How do you know when Lavender is dying?

Answer: If your plant’s stalk becomes soft and very easy to snap, then it’s dying. When multiple stalks are snapping easily it means the plant is dead. So, you can detect a dead plant by cutting its stalk. 

Question: How long does a lavender tree last?

Answer: Lavender is a perennial and can live up to 15 years. But it can be prolonged by taking care. Regular care, a watering routine, and drainage can help the plant to increase its longevity. 

Question: What happens if you don’t prune lavender?

Answer: Without regular pruning, the lavender looks like a large lanky, woody base. It’s extremely bad for the plant and slowly pushes it towards death. Thus the annual pruning is much needed for a lavender’s proper growth. 

Verdict

With this, we have reached the end of the post. Hopefully, this will help you to solve the lavender turning brown problem.  

Hope you have a garden full of sweet-smelling lavenders. Our best wishes to you.