If your lavender is refusing to bloom, it can be a real bummer. There are a few different reasons why this might be happening—sometimes it’s the environment, other times it’s a maintenance mishap, or even just a little hiccup in the plant’s metabolism. Here’s what you need to keep an eye on to get those purple blooms back.
Location, Location, Location
Lavender is actually a pretty low-maintenance guest in the garden, but it’s very picky about where it lives. If it’s not in the right spot, it’ll let you know pretty quickly. If the soil or the general environment isn’t quite right, you’ll end up with a green bush but zero flowers. Here is what your lavender is actually looking for:
The ideal conditions for lavender:
- Tons of direct sunlight
- A warm, or even hot, location
- A spot sheltered from harsh winds
- Nutrient-poor soil (sandy soil is perfect!)
Don’t forget that the weather plays a huge role, too. If you’re having a particularly cold or rainy year, your plant might not be getting the “sun-soaking” it needs to produce blooms. In these cases, the flowering period might just be delayed, or it might not happen at all.
Care and Maintenance Mistakes
Sometimes, we kill our plants with kindness! A few common care mistakes can actually prevent flowering. For starters, you really only need to give your lavender a little lime once a year. When it comes to fertilizer, less is definitely more. As I mentioned, lavender loves “lean” soil. You should especially avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers; these will make the plant grow lots of leafy green stems, but you won’t see any flowers.
Pruning is another area where timing is everything. Usually, we cut lavender back by about half in the spring to keep it looking shapely and encourage fresh growth. However, you really want to get this done in March or April at the latest. If you wait too long to prune, you might accidentally cut off the developing flower buds before they even have a chance to show off!
