Cut Lavender Dropping Buds
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Louise Errett
Posted on: July 05, 2005

I have been growing lavender for a number of years and have a small business based on several lavender products. I grow in zone 6. One of the cultivars that I grow is Royal Velvet and I have noticed buds dropping off prematurely if left in water for 24-36 hours. Do you have any information on why one cultivar would drop the buds after cutting? I would appreciate any information on this.

Ethylene is produced by plants and acts as a plant hormone iniating leaf and bud drop and in greater concentration, on flower wilting. How sensitive plants are to ethylene varies greatly from species to species and even from cultivar to cultivar of the same species or hybrid. If there is an external source of ethylene the most sensitive plants will react first. External sources of ethylene could be ripening fruit such as apples, rotting vegetation such as old cut flowers or oranges or bread with a bit of penicillin mould on them. The list is endless and frequently involves fungi. I suspect a source of ethylene and that your cultivar is very sensitive to it.

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