How to revive lavender plants?

[John57]

Photographed my lavender this morning in Mernda, Victoria.

They are looking partially dead or dying, and yet regrowth is evident.

I did the 'normal' tops and trim this year, like every other year, and have seen the usual growth.

So I am not sure what is going on here, and I would appreciate your advice.

PS, there is nothing I am aware of after looking closely, in that gap under the bushes

[JacobZ]

Hi @John57,

That's a bit of a headscratcher.

Is there anything you can think of that is different to the rest of the garden bed? The proximity to the corner jumps out to me.

The first thing that comes to mind is that the corner might be a low point where water on the high side of that retaining wall is draining to. If this is the case, the soil could be sitting sodden while around it is more freely draining. Do you know if drainage could be an issue in that corner? What is the soil like?

The next thought is that it could be insect-related. If you inspect that area, do you see any signs of insects? Webs, eggs, sticky sap spots?

It wouldn't be the end of the world if you had to remove the dead patch, as lavender is pretty resilient, but working out what is going on could help us address it so it doesn't come back.

If you can have a look and think, we can look at the problem further.

You might also like to have a read through How to diagnose a sick plant and see if anything jumps out that could apply to your situation.

Allow me to tag our helpful members @Noelle, @robchin and @mich1972 to see if they have any thoughts about what the cause could be.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

[John57]

G'day Jacob, thanks for replying.

I'll check out the soil with my trusty multimeter later and report back.

No evidence of insects, let's see.

Best

John

[JacobZ]

Constantly damp soil could certainly cause issues.

Let's see what you find @John57.

I'll await your response.

Jacob