The Lavender 8:8:8 Watering Rule: Sensible Nonsense

Key Takeaways:

Don’t overwater your lavender plants. Established lavender in the soil does not need watering.

• Newly planted Lavender in the soil needs water to establish in its first growing season. After that, it’s drought tolerant and you don’t water it.
• However, don’t water new Lavender every day, that’s too much. Observe the soil, and water when it’s dried out.

Lavender in pots is a different story, and must be watered regularly through the summer.

• Lavender in pots needs controlled watering, but mustn’t sit in water for any length of time.
• In Summer, with a saucer under the pot, aim to wet the rootball in the pot about 4 times a month, without leaving the saucer full of water afterwards, as you might well do for many other plants in hot weather.

This is Gardening, Mate: Your Mileage May Vary

The 8:8:8 Lavender watering rule states that you should water your potted lavender plants with 8 ounces, or a cup, of water every 8 days for the first 8 months.

Here’s the Express:

“But newly potted lavender may need a bit of a helping hand for a couple of months, and one rule of thumb to follow is the 8 8 8 approach, Ideal Home explains.

The mnemonic offers a broad sense of how often you should be watering them – without overwatering them.

For the eight weeks after they’ve been planted, the outlet recommends giving them eight ounces of water every eight days.

This approach also ensures they receive amounts of moisture sufficient for developing strong roots.”

The Express

Why is this 8:8:8 watering rule only a guideline?

The strict letter of this 8:8:8 rule is more of an example, because there can be no one-size-fits-all rule for watering.

The amount of water a Lavender plant growing in pot needs varies according to your location, the weather that week, the amount sun on the pot itself, your potting mix, the size of the plant, and the Mediterranean gravel mulch topping you didn’t have time to add yet.

However, the spirit of the 8:8:8 rule is to prevent overwatering, which is the serial killer of potted Lavender, and remind you to wait at least a week before watering again.

“I must not overwater. Overwatering is the lavender-killer. Overwatering is the little-death that brings total root rot. I will face my urge to water. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see the drying top layer of soil. Where the urge to water has gone, there will be nothing. Only my lavender will remain.”

Frank Herbert, Lavender of Dune

What is the Real 8:8:8 Lavender Rule?

The real 8:8:8 rule is about pruning English lavender to 8 inches on the 8th day of August, the 8th month.

This reminds you to prune Lavender short and early, so the base has time to beef up before Winter, laying the foundation of next year’s tight, bushy, profuse flower display.
Without strict pruning, Lavender plants get gappy and the flowers decline.