Lavender indoor is a perennial shrub with medicinal properties, a delicate aroma of essential oil. Previously, it was considered only an ornamental plant, actively used for landscaping the garden and flower beds. Now this capricious flower is grown at home. Moths and mosquitoes cannot stand its smell. This plant will get rid of annoying insects in the house.
Lavender: plant varieties and its origin
Lavender does not have a central stem. This plant belongs to the family Lamiaceae. On its shoots appear inflorescences in the form of ears of white, pink or purple, depending on the variety. It has a pronounced period of rest and vegetation.
Lavender in a pot
This plant has 47 species and several hybrid forms that differ in bush height, a touch of buds and resistance. Some species are considered suitable exclusively for open ground. Others take root pretty well at home.
Potted Varieties
The most common varieties for indoor cultivation include:
- Lavender narrow-leaved (English). This perennial evergreen shrub is considered the most unpretentious and frost-resistant species cultivated in Russia. The height of this plant reaches a maximum of 30 cm. The inflorescences are on long stems, which are covered with narrow, elongated leaves of a gray-green hue. The flowers are blue with shades of purple and violet. The flowering period is July-August.
- Lavender broadleaf (French). This species is characterized by the presence of wide leaves and heat lovingness, is the founder of decorative varieties. Care for him is necessary exactly the same as for the other relatives. This lavender has beautiful flowers in various shades. The plant does not have a pronounced smell, which has an English variety. This species blooms from April or May to July. But at the end of summer, flowering can occur again. Height does not exceed 60 cm. The most beautiful representative of the species is lavender with flowers in the shape of a butterfly.
- Lavender Scalloped. This name the plant received due to the cut leaves of a silver hue. Large fragrant flowers appear in the middle of the summer season. This plant belongs to the thermophilic species. Designed for indoor cultivation.
On a note! Which variety to choose for themselves, everyone decides for himself. In care they are approximately the same.
Plant origin
Lavender was known in antiquity. She hails from the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and India. In the distant past, dried lavender flowers are used for water treatments. The ancient Romans added her bath to the water for washing hands before eating, with the help of her washed things. Because of this, the name of the plant from Latin lavare translates as "wash."
Lavender was used as a medicine to save against infectious diseases. When there were epidemics, the Romans made bonfires from lavender in front of their homes. Over time, lavender became known around the world. Essential oils were made from it, lavender became a symbol of love and beauty, it was grown in gardens, used to prepare dishes.
Lavender field
Lavender in a pot: home care
Not everyone grows lavender in a pot in the apartment. Care for her is very important. Providing all the necessary conditions will lead to a positive result:
Temperature
Lavender is sensitive to extreme temperature extremes. For each variety, it is necessary to specify the minimum and maximum temperature indicators. Typically, lavender does not feel comfortable at temperatures below 5 ° C. Shrub prefers to bloom at a temperature of 18-20 ° C. Overheating of the root system is dangerous for the plant. It will lead to rapid drying and death of the flower.
Lighting
Lavender needs good lighting. Any shadow will lead to discomfort. Lavender is recommended only on window sills on the east or south side. During the dormant period of the plant and on cloudy days, illumination should be provided. The minimum length of daylight for lavender is 10 hours. In winter, you can highlight the flower with a fluorescent lamp.
Watering
The plant does not require strong and plentiful watering. It is recommended to water 1-2 times a week in the summer at moderate temperatures. In winter, the plant should be watered no more than 1 time in 2 weeks. Watering is reduced only for the dormant period. The temperature of the water should be similar to room temperature. Watering should be early in the morning or in the evening.
Spraying
The plant requires regular spraying. In particular, it is necessary in winter if the flower is near the battery.
Humidity
Waterlogging for this plant is a greater threat than a lack of moisture. However, severe drought in the soil will negatively affect the flower. If lavender suffers from central heating or dry air, it is recommended to put humidifiers near it.
Priming
For planting, use universal soil designed specifically for home flowers. If desired, you can make a special soil. To do this, mix sand or fine gravel, as well as turf, humus, leafy soil.
Top dressing
For lavender, soil containing many nutrients is optional. Under the condition of transplantation every year, it can do without feeding for a long enough time. However, for active and spectacular flowering, it is recommended to feed the plant every 2 weeks from spring to autumn.
Watering lavender
Important! As a top dressing, ordinary mineral fertilizers suitable for indoor plants are suitable. In the early spring, it is worth using nitrogen top dressing. In the period of the appearance of buds and flowering, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are suitable. Potassium should be contained in larger quantities.
Features of winter care, rest period of room lavender
The main question that arises for those who have indoor lavender is: how to care for it during the rest period? When the shrub fades, it must be pruned and rid of dry leaves.
In winter, the bush falls asleep. At this time, it is recommended to transfer it to a cool place away from hot batteries and heaters. It is necessary to maintain a room temperature of 17-19 ° C.
Important! Water the plant in winter as little as possible. This will provide lush flowering of the lavender shrub in the summer.
Lavender pruning
When and how does indoor lavender bloom
Shrub flowers form in June. The plant can continue flowering until the fall, or rather until October. During flowering, flowers bloom in the plant. From them inflorescences turn into spikelets. Each spikelet contains 6-10 buds.
The shape of the leaves of each species may be different. It is worth adding to the above types of shrubs:
- manstead, whose purple inflorescences rise above the stem;
- a hidkot with highly branched shoots and large flowers of a blue-violet hue;
- southerner requiring stratification for growing at home;
- stekhadskaya, having inflorescences of such shades as white, cherry, lilac, purple and green;
- butterfly stroke with flowers of blue, lilac and dark purple hues.
Lavender bloom
How to grow indoor lavender
Lavender propagates in two ways: from seeds and using cuttings.
Seeds
The method of seed cultivation is rarely used, because it takes a lot of time. To grow lavender seed, you need:
- Sow it in a prepared container with sandy soil.
- Water, bury and leave for 30-40 days. The temperature should be from -5 to +5 degrees.
- After transferring the seed box to a well-lit, warm place for the first shoots to appear.
- Land in May.
Important! If stratification of the seed material is preliminarily done, the seed will rise much faster.
Cuttings
A method of cultivating a lavender shrub with cuttings is more effective. First you need to cut off the annual shoots from the plant. Then they must be divided into 10 cm segments. The lower part should be rooted at an angle of 45 ° C and treated with a root stimulator. After that, cuttings should be immersed in a 1: 1 mixture of sand and peat. They are covered with a film, after rooting the cuttings need to be planted in pots.
Transplanting room lavender
For a transplant, you will need a plastic pot with drainage, expanded clay, earth enriched with potassium, glass perlite to improve soil properties, growth stimulator Zircon for irrigation.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Take the container and mix in it 5 liters of earth with 1 liter of perlite.
- Pour expanded clay to the bottom of the lavender pot so that air enters the plant from below, and the top layer of the earth never remains in stagnant water. The layer should be 2-4 cm from the bottom.
- Pour the earth with perlite into a pot and pit.
- Take a bush and plant in a hole.
- In 5 l of water at room temperature add 10 ml of growth stimulant and water the pot around the edges.
- After the water drains, fill the holes that have appeared with earth.
Planting lavender and caring at home for it is not so difficult.
Lavender transplant
Possible problems in growing room lavender
A shrub can stop growing if its root rests on the bottom of the pot. For planting, it is recommended to select deep pots. The room in which the plant is grown must be constantly aired. Growth will slow in a stuffy room. You can ventilate the plant on the balcony.
Do not dry the soil. The plant should not dry out, otherwise nothing will help him. Excessive moisture can cause gray rot. In this case, the stems begin to fade. If the bush is affected by gray rot, it is recommended to transplant the plant.
If you follow all the rules of care and provide this fastidious plant with the proper conditions, it will respond to care with beautiful flowering and a pleasant aroma.
