Flowers: Growing Lavender in Tropical area....need suggestion..THANKs

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iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) September 16, 2009 03:39 AM	Dear everyone; Nice to meet you all here, the forum giving us the informative...THANKS. We living in tropical area, which our terrain (to be farmed) is Hill side, 200-400 meter high from sea level, humid (40%-80% in average annually), rainy but not heavy, temp in winter during 10C-20C, summer 20-30C and rainy during 18-28C. We plan to establish the lavender farm here in the near future, If we succeed for growing the lavender plant (from SEEDS!). None of this farm in our country/neighbor country... I knew that, I will have very good suggestion/advise/comment from all of you here in this forum, you may need more infor, please drop to this forum and we will check/response more often. THANKssss IN ADVANCE>> This message was edited Sep 16, 2009 5:03 PM
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) September 16, 2009 10:25 AM	Do you know how much rain you get annually? From what I found on Google, depending on where you are in Thailand you could get anywhere from 102 cm (40 in) per year to over 380 cm (150 in) per year. Lavender is native to Mediterranean climates which have hot summers with no (or very little) rain, and cool winters with some (but not a lot of) rain, so I suspect your biggest problem with it will be too much rain. If you're in the area that gets closer to 380 cm of rain then I don't think you have much chance at all with lavender unless you grow it in pots and have a roof over them to protect them from the rain. If you're on the drier end with 102 cm then if you have really good drainage some lavenders might do OK (being on a hill will help you, but if your soil is clay you may want to do some amendments as well). Summer humidity won't be great for them either. Lavandula stoechas tends to do a little bit better in wetter more humid climates but that's not the type of lavender that is typically used to make lavender oil & other lavender products so I'm not sure if it would be what you're looking for. If you were just trying some lavender for fun in your garden then I'd say go try it and see what happens--but it sounds like this is a pretty major thing that you're planning and your climate is not really good for lavender (which is probably why you don't see other people growing it) so I'd advise you to start small--get a few plants going and see how they do before you invest a lot of time and money in setting up a whole lavender farm. Also even if you do have a drier year and the plants do OK, there's no guarantee that they're going to do well every year--since your climate is not ideal for them there are going to be years where you have problems so that's something to think about if you're looking at this as a way to make a living (vs something you're doing for fun) There are tons and tons of plants that love tropical climates and would really thrive in your area, so if you are looking at this as a way to make a living you may want to consider growing something that would be better suited to your climate.
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) September 16, 2009 09:54 PM	Much appreciate your comment, ecrane3!....Manay many thanksss...your input gave me into consideration and looking for 'try'....Thanksss.
ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) September 16, 2009 11:05 PM	Glad to help, and good luck with whatever you decide to try!
gemini_sage Winchester, KY (Zone 6a) September 22, 2009 07:07 AM	Have you tried growing any Lavender varieties yet? It would probably be a good idea to try several and keep records of their development for a couple of years, then you can better assess how successful larger scale production would be.
RWeb auckland New Zealand September 27, 2009 06:38 PM	Ecrane3, you're quite right, had a downpipe of our house going onto our lavender which affected it , and we never realised till someone mentioned it. IamStar, you can find more tips like this at MyGarden (www.mygarden.co.nz) - which is more New Zealand-based but it helps as our climates are similar. ________________________ This message was edited Oct 11, 2009 8:45 PM
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) September 28, 2009 06:02 AM	Dear ecrane3: The location that we plan is calling 'rain shadow' which that might suit for. Dear gemini_sage. Thanks, I've tried many varieties and now they are some sprounted and start seedling (some have 'true leaf', but the rate is quite low... will keep monitoring.. Dear RWeb, will try on that web...
gemini_sage Winchester, KY (Zone 6a) September 28, 2009 07:39 AM	I think its pretty typical to have low germination rate with Lavender. A lot of folks have mentioned having difficulty with growing them from seed. A lot of commercial growers prefer to start with plugs or rooted cuttings.
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) October 14, 2009 04:36 AM	Dear folks; I have an updated. with posted picture of 'French' and 'Munstead' Thanks for cheer up. I also have 3-4 question need your advise. 1. Some seedling, It seem to have 'stem bending', is that cause from too much watering or else. 2. I Some seedling, it seem to have 'burn leaf', is that cause from too sunny or else. 3. how much and how oftern to water the 'seedling' which is 2-5 cm long 4. how much of sun for 'tiny seedling', in my country is rainy season and sometime very hot sun. THANKSSSS View Larger
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) October 14, 2009 04:37 AM	more pic, with burn leaf View Larger
themoonhowl Prairieville, LA (Zone 9a) October 14, 2009 09:40 AM	As Stake said, it looks like the seedlings are not getting enough sunlight, and being in such large pots makes controlling water very hard so they may be "damping off" (when the soil is too wet at the base of the plant.) It is better for the plant to keep it in a small container until it develops a sturdy root system.
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) October 14, 2009 11:31 PM	Thanks to 'themoonhowl', can anyone help answer to those my each question..thanks in advance. Now not sure 'too much water' or 'too much sun'. THANKSSSS.
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) October 14, 2009 11:33 PM	One another question; Q> CAN very small tiny Seedling get the full sun? May 'burn leaf' result? THANKSSSS
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) October 14, 2009 11:35 PM	Q to 'themoonhowl', SO, should we water the seedling not at the base, where should be, please advise. Thanks.
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) October 15, 2009 12:53 AM	More info, when I said bending, i found 'brown at base of seedling'. what does it cause, please advise. THANKSSS.
themoonhowl Prairieville, LA (Zone 9a) October 15, 2009 07:52 AM	That is called "damping off" it occurs when the soil around the seedling is too wet and fungus forms. Here is info for you. http://www.ehow.com/how_9361_prevent-damping-seedlings.html http://tomclothier.hort.net/page13.html It is best to keep seedlings in small volume pots so they can be watered from the bottom, keeping moisture away from the stem of the plant. Lavender seedlings should get full sun from the time the seeds are planted.
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) October 15, 2009 10:38 PM	So, let me summary, 1. My seedling don't afraid of full sun, 2. The damping off and burend leaves came from "fungi" and "wet feet". Two assumption, am I correct. THANKS ALL.
themoonhowl Prairieville, LA (Zone 9a) October 16, 2009 08:00 AM	That sounds right, Imastar. Give them lots of sun and don't let them stay wet. Lavender does not like to be wet and likes good air circulation.
iamstar Suan Phung, Ratchaburi Thailand (Zone 11) October 22, 2009 01:08 AM	Dear All; From now on, the update pictures and status will be posted at 'Tropical Zone'. We can share and discuss further there. THANKS>>>>