And Then There Are Those Beyond Hope

My lavender plant died.

I’d bought it in April and for four months it thrived--a record for me. It wasn’t until August that the thick gray-green plant, its long wispy stems topped with delicate purple flowers, began to fade.

Each day more and more leaves turned a sickly yellow. Then they turned brown and, finally, fell off completely.

I told my husband the plant was dying. “It looks just fine,” he said with barely a passing glance at the now-thinning plant. My first triumph over a lifelong brown thumb was wilting before my eyes.

Then, I heard about the Los Angeles State and County Arboretum’s Plant Information Hot Line. My lavender could be saved.

I dialed (818) 821-3239, and Elona--Monday’s volunteer--listened as I described in painstaking detail the demise of my plant.

“I’m not quite clear on what you mean by lavender,” Elona said. “Is that the name of the plant or is that the color?”

Still, I didn’t give up hope.

Neither did Elona. She consulted her “Sunset Western Garden Book” and asked me lots of questions: Are the leaves gray or green? Do they have smooth or toothed-square edges? Are the flowers in fan-like clusters or short spiked clusters? Do they bloom continually?

After awhile she determined that my plant was a Lavandula dentata, better known as French lavender. And then came the diagnosis.

“Yellowish leaves mean either too much water or too little,” she said, happy to have solved the problem.

“Uh, great,” I said. “But can you tell me how I’m supposed to know which one?”

So, she asked more questions: “Is the plant in the ground or in a pot? Is it in full sun? Is it in loose, fast-draining soil?” And finally, “How often did you water it?”

“Too much,” she said. That was clear. “Don’t water it on a regular basis,” Elona scolded. “Just give it water when it needs it. Maybe less than once a week, maybe more.”

I knew that whichever way I went, I’d be going down the wrong garden path. And so did Elona.

“Where did you buy it?” she asked “Why don’t you ask them?”

Alas, it was too late for my lavender. But I’ll have that hot line number ready for my next plant emergency. And meanwhile I’ve bought a new French lavender, which is thriving . . . .