Home » Misc » Where to grow lavender

Where to grow lavender


How to Grow Lavender: Planting and Care

Lavender (Lavendula spp.) is a well-known and fragrant perennial plant that will come back every year with gray-green foliage, upright flower spikes, and a compact shrub form. Planting lavender is best in the spring after the risk of frost has passed and the soil has warmed up. It will grow at a moderate pace, often adding a few inches to its size each year. Lavender can be toxic to pets like dogs and cats.

Click Play to Learn How to Care for Lavender Plants

Common Name Lavender
Botanical Name Lavandula spp.
Family Lamiaceae
Plant Type Herbaceous perennial
Mature Size 2–3 ft. tall, 2–4 ft. wide
Sun Exposure Full sun
Soil Type Dry, well-draining
Soil pH Alkaline
Bloom Time Summer
Flower Color Purple
Hardiness Zones 5a–9a, USDA
Native Areas Europe
Toxicity Toxic to dogs, toxic to cats

How to Plant Lavender

Tips

Lavender has a large, spreading root system. However, do not plant lavender in shady spots in your garden where they will be overshadowed by trees or other large plants. Lavender grows best in full sun.

Lavender Care

As with most plants, your success in growing lavender will depend both on what kind of growing conditions you provide and which varieties you select to grow. Even if you do everything right and your lavender plants appear happy, the genus is generally not long-lived and most lavender plants begin to decline in 10 years or less.

The Spruce / Adrienne Legault  Neil Holmes / Getty Images Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images thepurpledoor / Getty Images

Light

Lavender plants grown in full sunlight is the best way to guarantee a lot of buds and big, full bushes.

Soil

Lean soil (soil without a lot of organic matter mixed in) will encourage a higher concentration of oils (and good smells), so go easy on the organic matter and fertilizer. Lavender plants prefer well-drained soil that is on the drier side, so if you're using a traditional potting mix, be sure to add in some sand for drainage. An alkaline or especially chalky soil will enhance your lavender's fragrance, while any pH below about 6.5 will likely cause lavender plants to be very short-lived.

Water

Lavender is a resilient plant that is extremely drought-tolerant once established. When first starting your lavender plants, keep them regularly watered during their first growing season. After that, they can handle extended periods of drought—in fact, too much water can lead to fungal disease and root rot.

Temperature and Humidity

Lavender can withstand a range of temperatures, and it's usually dampness more than the cold that's responsible for killing lavender plants. Dampness can come in the form of wet roots during the winter months or high humidity in the summer. If humidity is a problem, make sure you have plenty of space between your plants for airflow, and always plant your bushes in a sunny location. Protect lavender plants from harsh winter winds by planting them next to a stone or brick wall to provide additional heat and protection. If you live in an area where the ground routinely freezes and thaws throughout the winter, your lavender plants will benefit from a layer of mulch applied after the ground initially freezes to protect the roots.

Fertilizer

It's a good idea to add a handful of compost into the hole when you are first starting lavender plants. Beyond that, feeding is not needed with these plants and can detract from the overall potency of your lavender.

Types of Lavender

There are many varieties of lavender, each boasting benefits and perks. Some of the most popular include:

Pruning

Although lavender plants get regularly pruned simply by harvesting the flowers, a bit of spring pruning is recommended to keep your plant well-shaped and to encourage new growth. Taller lavender varieties can be cut back by approximately one-third of their height, while lower-growing varieties can either be pruned back by a couple of inches or cut down to new growth.

If you live in an area where lavender suffers winter die-back, don't prune your plants until you see new green growth at the base of the plant. If you disturb the plants too soon in the season, they're unlikely to develop new growth.

Watch Now: How to Prune Lavender Plants

Harvesting Lavender

A major reason lavender is so prized is that its flowers keep their fragrance once dried. For best drying results, harvest the flowers as the buds first begin to open. Hang them in small bunches upside-down in a warm spot with good air circulation until dried. Besides being beautiful and aromatic, lavender flowers are also edible. They can be used raw in salads, added to soups and stews, used as a seasoning, baked into cookies, and brewed into tea. Use sparingly; a little lavender flavor goes a long way.

Propagating Lavender

Lavender plants are best propagated by either softwood cuttings (the soft, flexible tips of shoots) or hardwood cuttings (segments of shoots with woody stems). Softwood cuttings are available in the spring; hardwood cuttings are available in the fall. Both processes can be done relatively the same—here's how:

  1. Use a sterilized, sharp knife to cut a 3-inch segment of a healthy shoot from the plant. Hardwood cuttings should be severed just below a bump that identifies a leaf node. Remove the leaves from the bottom 2 inches of the stem and scrape off the skin from the bottom of the stem along one side.
  2. Fill a small pot with a seed-starting mix that has been moistened with a bit of water.
  3. Dip the stripped side of the cutting in rooting hormone. Bury it into the seed-starting mix.
  4. Cover the pot with plastic and place somewhere warm with ample filtered light. Softwood cuttings take two to four weeks to begin rooting; hardwood cuttings take a bit longer.
  5. When you've noticed that roots are established, remove the plastic covering and place the pot back in a sunny location.
  6. Feed the plant once a week with a liquid plant fertilizer diluted to 25 percent strength.
  7. After two or three weeks, the plant can be transplanted outdoors or into a larger pot with standard potting soil—commercial potting soil has enough nutrients to nourish the plant without any more feeding.

Potting and Repotting Lavender

Where outdoor planting is not practical, growing lavender in a ceramic, clay, or terra-cotta pot and moving it around to follow the sun or even bringing it indoors for the winter, will be most efficient. Lavender prefers to grow in a tight space. A pot that can accommodate the root ball with a couple of inches to spare is a good choice; a pot that is too large will encourage excessive dampness.

Ensure that your container has plenty of holes at its base for drainage—root rot is one of the few problems experienced by lavender plants. Additionally, you can plant lavender in a clay or terracotta pot to help wick moisture away from the soil and keep it from getting too wet. Use a loose, soilless mix for planting, and remember that container-grown lavender will require more water than garden-grown plants. A good rule of thumb is to water when the soil (not the plant) appears dry, watering at the base of the plant to limit dampness on the foliage.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Lavender plants are not afflicted by many diseases. They may develop phytophthora, which is a soil-borne fungal disease that causes root and stem rot. Lavender can also succumb to septoria leaf spot, which is caused by a fungus and is also commonly found on tomato plants.

However, many common pests are attracted to lavender, including whiteflies, spider mites, leafhoppers, and spittlebugs (which do little damage). Water spray, insecticidal soaps, and neem oil can be helpful to eliminate pests. The four-lined plant bug (FLPB) is another pest that can be found sucking on lavender plant leaves and can be controlled by pesticides.

How to Get Lavender to Bloom

When you're growing a plant as prized for its blooms as lavender, try to do all you can to get it to flower profusely. If you're having a difficult time getting your lavender plants to bloom, there are a few issues that could be to blame.

Soil that is too fertile can result in fewer blooms. Highly fertile soil promotes a lot of green growth at the expense of bud production. You can either relocate your plants or amend the soil with sand or gravel to aerate it and make it less nutrient-dense.

You should also make sure that your lavender plants are getting at least six to eight hours of sunlight daily, which will result in the most productive blooming. If your plant isn't getting that much light in its current location, you can cut back nearby foliage that may be overshadowing it, or replant your lavender in containers so you can move them around and "chase" the light.

Lastly, pruning your plant each spring—even if the size is suitable for your space—can result in more frequent (and fuller) blooming. The reason: Lavender sets buds on new growth, so stimulating that process is a helpful signal to the plant that it should get growing.

Common Problems With Lavender

Lavender plants are fairly trouble-free, but problems can occur. Here are common issues you may encounter when growing lavender indoors or outdoors.

Leaves Turning Yellow

Leaves turn yellow if the soil is too wet. If the lower leaves are yellow, that definitely means you are overwatering the plant. Many lavender plants will perish if their soil gets too wet over the winter months.

Plant Smells Bad

You have probably overwatered your lavender plant. The plant may have root rot. If you have a potted lavender plant that you think has root rot, prune the dead or affected roots with a sharp and sterilized cutting tool and repot the plant to see if it's salvageable.

Drooping Leaves

You have probably underwatered your lavender plant. In addition, the soil will feel parched.

Soil Is Always Wet

You have overwatered your lavender plant. See if you can remove any root rot and replant the lavender in new soil.

Watch Now: 4 Long-Blooming Perennials

Article Sources

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Lavender. ASPCA.

  2. Fourlined Plant Bugs. University of Minnesota Extension.

How to Grow Lavender | Lavender Planting & Growing Tips – Bonnie Plants

Try growing lavender in your home garden. It makes a wonderful border, grows well in pots, and smells terrific for sachets, salts, and cooking.

The countryside of southern France is legendary for its fields of lavender (Lavandula x intermedia Provence) grown for the perfume industry. In North America, lavender is a shrubby perennial grown for its flowers and fragrance, but it also serves as a landscape item for its beauty and ability to stand heat and drought. In parts of California, is it used in islands of commercial parking lots, which attests to its toughness.

In a formal garden, lavender may be clipped to form a low hedge or an aromatic border along a path. In a rock garden, a single plant or just a few plants may be used to great effect as an accent. And, of course, lavender is a natural choice for any herb garden. The cool, gray-green foliage contrasts nicely with its own flowers, as well as dark green herbs and other plants.

Lavender also grows quite well in containers. In the Deep South, it actually does better in pots, as it benefits from improved drainage and air circulation. While the plants thrive in arid Western climates, they are usually considered annuals in the South.

Quick Guide to Growing Lavender

Lavender plants have a neat, shrub-like form. This lavender grows alongside orange poppies in a rock garden, an ideal spot for lavender because it provides good drainage.

Lavender plants have a neat, shrub-like form. This lavender grows alongside orange poppies in a rock garden, an ideal spot for lavender because it provides good drainage.

Soil, Planting, and Care

Set plants 12 to 18 inches apart in an open area with full sun and good air circulation. Be sure to choose strong, vigorous young lavender plants, like those from Bonnie Plants®. Bonnie has been growing plants for the home gardener for over a century, so you can rely on us to help you be successful.

Plant lavender in well-drained, slightly alkaline soil with a pH between 6.7 and 7.3. You can add builder's sand to the soil before planting to increase drainage, which is vital because lavender will not tolerate excessive soil moisture or humidity. To further improve drainage, plant lavender in a raised bed filled with premium raised bed soil, such as Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Raised Bed Mix, along a wall, or near the top of a slope. In an herb or perennial bed, ensure good drainage by planting lavender on a small mound. When planting lavender in pots, be sure to use high quality potting mix, such as blogs/garden-fundamentals/pollination-problems-give-hand-pollination-a-try. For the very best results—think lots of beautiful, fragrant blooms—it's also important to feed lavender regularly with a premium plant food like Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Blooms Plant Nutrition. Be sure to follow the directions on the label.

Lavender flowers bloom in summer; you can clip faded blooms to encourage continued blooming throughout the warm season. Prune lightly to promote branching, especially in spring once the plants show new growth.

Troubleshooting

Remember that lavender needs good drainage and good air circulation. Do not over-water, and allow the soil to dry before watering again. When there is a lot of heat and humidity, fungus can attack the plants, turning the leaves brown. To minimize the chance of having such a problem, mulch with pebbles or sprinkle sand around the base of the plant for faster evaporation. If you cut the blooms, trim in a way that thins the plant a bit, leaving it open for better air circulation.

Start your transplants out in pretty containers, especially in humid climates where good air circulation is a must.When you cut lavender blossoms, leave a long stem attached for handling.

Harvest and Storage

Harvest lavender stems at any time by cutting them from the plant. However, avoid clipping more than every third stem to keep the plant looking full. Flowers will keep their perfume for months when you harvest just before they are entirely open. To dry flowers, gather a bunch of stems and hang them upside-down in a dark, well-ventilated place to preserve colour and keep the stems from molding.

Uses

Fresh flowers may be used in sauces, marinades, and desserts. Handle fragile dried blossoms with care and use them in teas, salts, potpourri, sachets, and crafts.

FAQs

What is the secret to growing lavender?

Lavender needs full sun and good drainage. It is more likely to die from excess moisture than from cold in winter. A pot is an excellent way to provide drainage, though the plant will be more vulnerable to cold temperatures than it would be in the ground.

Can I grow lavender in a container?

Absolutely! If you live in a moist or humid region, a container may be the only way to give your plant adequate drainage and sufficient air circulation to prevent rot. While lavender thrives in the dry, arid climate of the Provence region of France and in sunny California gardens, it may turn brown from fungal infection as the result of too much moisture in regions with higher rainfall and humidity. A terra cotta pot filled with a quality potting mix is ideal. Also, lavender grows best at a slightly alkaline pH of 6.7 to 7.3. Most potting soils are slightly acidic, so you may wish to mix lime into the soil at the rate of 2 to 3 ounces per cubic foot of potting mix. Also, when fertilizing, opt for timed-release granules or a product providing the nitrate form of nitrogen.

I have never planted lavender before and need some information about its habits. How much is it likely to spread?

Lavender is a small shrub that usually grows 20 to 24 inches tall and wide. The height includes the flower stalks, so when not in bloom, the foliage may be only a foot tall. The plant does not spread as thyme, oregano, and other herbs tend to. Whether the plant will grow to its greatest potential size also depends on growing conditions.

I just purchased lavender. Can I use it in cooking?

Yes. It lends a delicate floral essence to both teas and desserts. In the latter, the flower are usually combined with a liquid ingredient in which their fragrant oil is released. Then the flowers themselves are strained from the cream, honey, or other carrier of the flavor.

My plants look great and are growing but not flowering. Any suggestions?

Lavender is a perennial herb in many areas - that is, perennial if it gets really good drainage. Growing in a pot is an ideal way to provide good drainage. However, if the potting mix is extremely fertile, the plant may grow leaves and stems rather than flowering. Cut back on your fertilizer, especially if it is high in nitrogen. You can try switching to a bloom-booster formulation, or simply stop feeding it for a few weeks.

What is the best way to keep lavender plants over the winter?

Lavender plants are a challenge to grow in areas of high rainfall, particularly in winter. Many gardeners in the Southeast consider lavender an annual. Be sure to plant lavender in a pot, raised bed, or atop a retaining wall. Given sufficient drainage, plants will be winter hardy in zone 5 and areas that are warmer. If grown in a pot, lavender will need some protection during winter in zone 5 and areas that are colder.

Can one lavender plant be split into several in the springtime?

No. Unlike herbs that spread into clumps with underground or above-ground stems, lavender is a woody shrub and does not form a clump.

Harvesting Herbs Holidays Lavender

photos and advice from experienced gardeners

If you want peace, tranquility and kind warmth to reign in your home, and your soul to always be light and joyful, plant lavender in your garden.

This beautiful flowering ornamental shrub occupies the first place in the medicinal fragrance gardens, which are so widespread in Western Europe and East Asia.

Its unusual smell pacifies, soothes and evokes the most positive emotions even in very irritable people.

Lavender flowers are used in folk and traditional medicine to treat a number of diseases (read more about this below).

Lavender is cultivated today by many amateur gardeners. This beautiful plant takes root well in a new place and requires the most minimal care.

In this article we will tell you in detail about lavender and how it is planted and cared for.

FEATURES AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT

Biological portrait . Lavender is a perennial evergreen multi-stemmed subshrub belonging to the Lamiaceae family. Plant height does not exceed 60 cm.

The lower branches are lignified and strongly branched. They form multiple young shoots with strong silvery pubescence. The oblong narrow leaves with curled edges, 4-6 cm long, are also covered with thin hairs.

Bluish-violet flowers are collected in spike-shaped inflorescences. It is they who emit a very strong and surprisingly delicate bitter-wormwood aroma. In some types of lavender, the flowers may be white or creamy yellow.

Most species are thermophilic and will not grow in our climate. Only English lavender is highly frost-resistant (up to -30 degrees). In the garden in one place, lavender bushes can grow up to 40 years if they are pruned correctly.

HEALTH PROPERTIES OF LAVENDER

Lavender has unique healing properties.

The presence of a large amount of antioxidants in the flowers and leaves of the plant helps to reduce stress hormones in the human body. Therefore, decoctions and teas from lavender can be used to treat insomnia, increased irritability, overwork, neuroses and vegetative-vascular dystonia.

You can simply inhale the aroma of flowers or lavender oil, and this will immediately bring a pleasant calm and relaxation.

The high content of various organic compounds and antioxidants helps to lower and stabilize blood pressure. Extracts from lavender improve blood supply, primarily to the brain and prevent the occurrence of heart attacks and strokes.

The presence of natural antibiotics in plant tissues allows the use of lavender decoction for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis, ulcers, indigestion, intestinal inflammation, etc.).

Lavender oil perfectly heals festering wounds and treats various skin diseases.

Lavender is widely used in cosmetics for the manufacture of creams, lotions, perfumes and colognes.

Lavender baths not only calm the nervous system, but also rejuvenate the skin.

TYPES AND VARIETIES OF LAVENDER

There are several dozen types of lavender. The most common are narrow-leaved, serrated, broad-leaved, multi-notched .

But in our climate, only the most popular frost-resistant variety of narrow-leaved lavender, lavender English , can be grown.

It thrives both outdoors and indoors when grown in a pot.

English lavender is a short shrub (35 - 60 cm high) with many branched stems (one bush can form up to 400 vertical stems).

English lavender stems and leaves covered with silvery hairs.

According to experts, the best variety of English lavender is Munstead .

Its leaves are bright green with a silver down. The inflorescences are very large. They rise above the stem and look like bright blue candles with a purple tint. The aroma of flowers is very strong, and at the same time subtle and delicate.

English lavender Munstead starts in the first decade of June and continues until the end of August. It is this variety, as the most decorative, that landscape designers most often use in their compositions.

LAVENDER: PLANTING AND CARE

We have told you about the biological characteristics and types of lavender. Now let's look at how to properly plant and care for lavender in the open field and at home.

PLANTING LAVENDER IN OUTDOOR GROUND

Site selection. Lavender is a light-loving plant, so you need to choose an open, well-lit area for it.

Lavender does not tolerate close groundwater, so it should be planted in beds or flowerbeds 40 - 50 cm high.

Soils. Lavender loves loose, light, fertile, well-drained soils with a neutral reaction environment.

It will not grow on heavy clay and acid soil.

Acid soil must first be neutralized with dolomite flour, bringing it in for digging (at the rate of 5 kg per 6 sq. m of plot).

Acidic earth, usually heavy, clayey. Therefore, two weeks after deoxidation, it is necessary to improve its structure by adding for re-digging (based on 1 sq. M): two buckets of compost and sand, a bucket of leafy soil and half a bucket of wood ash.

Planting dates. The best time for planting lavender seedlings in open ground is spring (early May). In autumn, seedlings can be planted from mid-September to early October.

Planting lavender. Form beds for planting lavender. Dig planting holes with a depth and diameter of 15 cm at a distance of 60 - 70 cm from each other. Row spacing at least 80 cm (remember that lavender bushes grow quickly).

Prepare potting soil with compost, sand and leafy soil. In each hole, add 1.5 tbsp. spoons of superphosphate, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of potassium sulfate and a glass of wood ash.

Plant the plants and cover them with the prepared planting mix.

Water the lavender seedlings with warm water (half a watering can under each) and mulch the bed with straw or freshly cut grass. The mulch layer will retain moisture in the soil and discourage weed growth.

GROWING LAVENDER FROM SEEDS

Growing lavender outdoors . Lavender seeds have almost one hundred percent germination. Therefore, it can also be grown from seed.

It is best to use the seedling method. To do this, in early March, soak the seeds and sow them in plastic glasses or peat pots with a diameter of 15 cm, two seeds each. This will help you avoid the picking required when growing in boxes.

Pour well with lukewarm water and place the seed containers on the tray. Cover with a film on top and put in a warm room with an air temperature of + 22 ... + 25 degrees.

After 16 - 18 days, seedlings will emerge. Then put the pallet on the window, after removing the film. Install fluorescent lamps above the crops in order to illuminate the seedlings in the morning and evening hours. Young plants need 16 hours of daylight for normal growth.

Water twice a week so that all the soil in the glass is moist, but the water does not stand on the surface of the soil, otherwise the roots of the plants will begin to rot without oxygen.

Feed with some kind of ready-made fertilizer for growing seedlings of flowers (at the dosages indicated on the package).

Two weeks before planting lavender seedlings in the open ground, start hardening it on the balcony during the daytime.

Plant seedlings in open ground as described above.

Winter sowing. Lavender seeds germinate very well even after winter sowing. It is carried out when the air temperature drops to +1 ... +3 degrees.

Make furrows 10 - 12 cm deep in the bed and sow dry seeds there at a distance of 10 cm from each other. Before sowing, pour dry river sand into the bottom of the grooves with a layer of 4 cm, and spread the dry seeds on it.

Top them with nutrient mixture prepared in the same way as for planting seedlings.

Never water! Otherwise, the seeds will hatch and will surely die in winter.

When the temperature drops below -8…-10 degrees, cover the beds with sowing with spruce branches.

Growing lavender at home . With this cultivation, first stratify by mixing lavender seeds with sand and placing them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 1. 5 months. After that, sow them in the same way as for growing seedlings.

Only use pots for planting in which lavender will grow at home.

LAVENDER CARE

Lavender watering. Fast growing lavender plants need plenty of moisture to grow well and bloom profusely.

In addition, remember that this plant has a very strong root system, so when watering, you need to wet the entire root layer. Water the lavender abundantly, but do not allow waterlogging when puddles form on the surface of the soil.

Water 2 times a week at the rate of 2 - 3 watering cans per plant. In the heat, increase the frequency of watering.

Loosening and mulching. After each watering, lavender bushes should be planted high so that they form adventitious roots faster and the plant grows well.

Loosen all the soil under the lavender bushes well to give access to oxygen to the root system.

After hilling the ground under the bushes, mulch with hay or freshly cut grass so that water from the soil evaporates more slowly.

The mulch will also keep weeds from growing.

Lavender nutrition. In spring, lavender needs a good nitrogen supply so that young shoots develop faster and bloom earlier.

Therefore, immediately after the snow melts, feed the plants with a solution of urea (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water per plant).

Feed lavender with 1:10 slurry before flowering in June.

In September, after the end of flowering, feed the lavender bushes with some ready-made mineral complex for the autumn fertilization of ornamental shrubs. At the same time, strictly adhere to the dosage indicated on the package.

Lavender pruning in spring . Annually in the spring (at the end of April), carry out sanitary pruning of the bushes, removing all frozen, weak, diseased and old shoots.

In addition, shorten all long branches that extend beyond the general outline of the bush. This is especially important for lavender hedges, otherwise the hedge will look very messy.

Wintering. English lavender has high frost resistance (up to -30 degrees). However, young plantings are more sensitive to winter frosts. Therefore, in the first 3 years they are covered with spruce branches, tightly laying it on the plantings.

In areas with little snowy winters, cover old lavender plantings without fail. Pre-shorten the branches of the bushes by 7 - 10 cm (depending on the height of the bush).

In severe frosts, we recommend laying some agrofibre on top of the spruce branches, fastening it well along the edges so that the shelter is not blown away by the wind.

PESTS AND DISEASES

The strong scent of lavender generally repels pests.

However, with a strong thickening of plantings and the presence of a large number of weeds between them, aphid or slobbering penis.

To avoid this, weed well under the bushes and make sure that ants do not settle near the lavender plantings. After all, it is they who drag aphids onto cultivated plants.

If pests still appear on lavender bushes, spray them with Fufanon solution (strictly adhering to the dosages indicated on the package).

For the prevention of fungal diseases, in the spring, on a green cone, and before flowering, spray lavender bushes with a 3% Bordeaux mixture.

ADVICE FROM EXPERIENCED GARDENERS

Lavender does not tolerate transplanting well, so choose a permanent place in your garden for it right away. If such a need arose, dig bushes with a large clod of earth in order to preserve the overgrown root system of the plant as much as possible.

The distance between the lavender bushes in the flower bed should be equal to the height of an adult bush. When creating a lavender hedge, cut it in half.

Do not plant lavender plants in the shade. There they will grow and bloom poorly. In addition, without sunlight, the likelihood of plants being affected by fungal diseases is high.

If you create a thick layer of leaf mulch (7 - 8 cm) on the lavender bed, then there will be no need to apply additional organic fertilizers in summer.

When sheltering lavender for the winter, never cover the plantings with dry leaves. Otherwise, in winter, during thaws, the lower branches of the bushes will begin to rot. Cover lavender plantings only with spruce branches.

Don't overdo the spring pruning. If you shorten the branches too much, the bush may die!

THE BEST VARIETIES FROM OUR COLLECTION

The topic of our conversation was lavender, planting and caring for it. If you have a desire to grow this wonderful plant in your garden, then we offer you two options for planting material.

Read more about them on our website, as well as in the SEEDS 2022 and SPRING 2022 catalogs.

And you can buy them from us today!

Read also our published articles:

How to grow lavender in your garden,

How to grow lavender in your garden.

How to grow lavender in the garden - For gardeners and gardeners

one and a half meters high and two meters wide.

Lavender is an amazingly beautiful plant. In June, its spherical bushes are completely covered with blue-violet flowers, which delight the eye for 2.5 months and emit an incomparable - delicate, marvelous aroma.

Plant lavender in your garden and all summer long you will experience a feeling of incomparable bliss from admiring the spectacle of openwork purple bushes and the amazing smell of their flowers. The impression is that you are in the fairy-tale land of your childhood dreams!

In addition, growing lavender is not at all difficult if you know some of its features and follow the basic rules for caring for this crop.

In most regions of Russia, the most frost-resistant English lavender ( or narrow-leaved) is grown. It is a compact bush, 90 cm high and up to 1 m in diameter. It has long and narrow bluish-silvery leaves and bright lilac-violet flowers, located on thin long peduncles.

In winter, English lavender withstands frosts down to -30 degrees. It looks very beautiful in single landings, and in borders, and in complex landscape compositions.

In Europe, "gardens of delicate aromas" have become very fashionable now, in which people calm down and get unspeakable pleasure, inhaling gentle, pleasant smells. Among other plants (roses, magnolia crops, Syrian milkwort, jasmine and others), lavender occupies a leading place there.

In this article we will tell you how to grow English lavender in your garden and how to take care of it.

HISTORY OF THE APPEARANCE OF LAVENDER

Lavender is such an ancient plant that it is impossible to establish when it appeared on Earth. However, India and the Mediterranean countries are supposedly considered her homeland. From ancient chronicles it is known that various creams, incense and other cosmetics for the pharaohs in ancient Egypt were made from it. She was one of the main components for the preparation of oil for the mummification of dead representatives of the local nobility.

In Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, various bathing infusions were made from lavender. Even the name of the plant itself is translated from ancient Greek as "scented bath".

The first candles and incense sticks for fumigating rooms with the smell of lavender appeared in ancient China. From there they made their way to the Middle East, where they are widely used today.

Lavender was brought to European countries at the beginning of the Middle Ages. She was especially fond of the British, who without fail decorated Catholic churches with branches during great church holidays, as well as the coronation of new monarchs.

To this day, lavender bouquets adorn the chambers of the English Queen Elizabeth. And the infusion of this plant is used to wash the floors in all the rooms of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

On the territory of our country, lavender has been growing for centuries in the Caucasus and other southern regions. As a cultivated plant, it began to spread at the beginning of the 19th century after it was brought to the Nikitsky Botanical Garden.

At the end of the 30s of the last century in the Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, the first industrial plantations of lavender were established as a valuable essential oil crop.

In the last decade, landscape designers and amateur gardeners have shown great interest in English lavender.

USEFUL PROPERTIES OF LAVENDER

Lavender products are widely used in cosmetology, perfumery and medicine.

The most valuable product is lavender oil, which restores hair, helps with burns, smoothes wrinkles, rejuvenates skin cells.

Lavender flowers contain a large amount of vitamins A, E, the whole group B, as well as unique substances that have a revitalizing effect on skin cells, rejuvenating and making it elastic. They also contain natural antibiotics and antioxidants.

Decoctions and tinctures from lavender flowers are used to treat skin diseases, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and a number of nervous diseases, wound healing, strengthen the cardiovascular system, restore liver cells, improve general immunity.

Lavender flowers are widely used in the manufacture of perfumes, shampoos, soaps, creams and other cosmetics.

Lavender oil is simply indispensable in the confectionery industry for making toppings for the most expensive sweets, as well as cakes and pastries.

FEATURES OF GROWING LAVENDER

Experts believe that it is best to grow lavender from seeds. You can pre-grow seedlings. In this case, the seeds are sown in pots at the end of February, and in May they are transplanted into the garden - to a permanent place.

And you can sow seeds directly into the ground - either in spring in mid-May, or in autumn - in early October. When spring sowing, it is advisable to stratify the seeds in April by mixing them with wet sand and placing them in the refrigerator for a month.

When sown in autumn, the seeds will naturally stratify in winter under a layer of snow.

For sowing lavender, choose a sunny, well-lit, calm place, inaccessible to cold winds and drafts. She needs soils that are very fertile, loose, well permeable and necessarily neutral. Even in slightly acidic lands, lavender will lag far behind in development and grow poorly.

It also does not tolerate stagnant rain and close groundwater.

In any case, seeds are best sown in high beds (40 cm high). the soil on which will consist of rotted manure, fertile soil and sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1. Lavender definitely needs phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (100 g of superphosphate and 60 g of potassium sulfate per 1 sq. M of the garden).

The bed with crops should be well watered and covered with a light film until sprouts appear. Then the film is removed. In the first year, care is reduced to regular watering and shallow loosening. At the end of summer, the plants are thinned out, leaving a distance of 50 cm between the bushes.

For the winter, young lavender bushes are covered with spruce branches, and a non-woven covering material of the Agrospan type is thrown on top.

At the end of April, the shelter is removed and the first feeding of plants is carried out with a solution of urea (2 teaspoons per bucket of water under 4 bushes). The second top dressing - slurry - is carried out in June).

In August, the bushes are thinned out, leaving a distance of 80 cm between them. Sealing plants can be immediately planted side by side.

In autumn, lavender is fed with some ready-made mineral autumn fertilizer.

In subsequent years, the nature of top dressing is changed. Nitrogen nutrition is given once in the spring, and phosphorus-potassium - twice during the summer. The fact is that with an excess of nitrogen, the bushes will give powerful green foliage to the detriment of flowering. And the fragrance of the flowers will not be so strong.

Mature bushes are regularly watered and highly hilled, this will contribute to their rapid growth. After hilling, the bushes are mulched with hay or freshly cut grass.

Annual rejuvenating pruning and shaping of bushes.

Learn more