Lavender Growing Guide
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) has very beautiful fragrant foliage and the flowers are often used as potpourri as well as cooking and in tea. It is usually found in a flower garden, but is equally at home in an herb garden. Lavender is a frost tolerant herbaceous perennial and is winter hardy in USDA Zones 5 to 9.
Lavender is native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and is a small shrub reaching 1 to 3-feet high and spreads 2 to 4-feet wide. It prefers full sun. Its upright flower stalks are usually violet to pinkish and white. Lavender is often used as a border or hedge.
In addition to being deer resistant, lavender is a nectar plant for butterflies and pollinators.
Starting From Seed
Starting lavender from seed is the least expensive way to get a large number of plants for an attractive border or hedge. Lavender grown from seed should be started indoors 6 to 10-weeks before the last frost in the spring. The seeds should germinate in 2 to 4-weeks. The use of a seed starting kit with a clear dome helps improve the germination rate.
Sow the lavender seeds ¼-inch deep in a good seed starting mix. Keep the soil moist and at 70 to 80-degrees F. When the seedlings emerge, place them in a south-facing window or under fluorescent grow lights turned on for 16-hours per day.
You can transplant your lavender plants into larger containers when they have at least 2-pairs of leaves. To accustom your lavender seedlings to outdoor conditions they need to be hardened off.
To harden off your lavender plants put them outdoors when the temperature is in the 40s to the 50s. Put them in an area out of the direct sun and is sheltered from the wind for a few hours. Keep them watered and increase the time outdoors each day and allow them to get some direct sun. After about a week they can be left outdoors, but bring them indoors if frost threatens.
A cold frame is very useful in hardening off plants, making sure to open it up during the day or they could get burned from the heat of the hot sun. It can be closed at night if frost threatens and can protect your plants from animal damage. Hardening off prepares the plant for the outdoor environment and reduces transplant shock.
For more guidance our seed starting page will be helpful.
Soil Preparation
Plant your lavender in full sun and in a nice loose well-drained garden soil. It does best in a slightly alkaline soil with a pH range of 6.4 to 8.2.
Planting Lavender
Lavender should be planted in the late spring after the last expected frost.
Plant lavender 18 to 24-inches apart or in groups of 3 or 5 behind other shorter plants. Lavender can be planted along a path to make a low hedge. Dig a hole as deep as the pot and twice as wide. To the soil you just removed add the same amount of good garden soil so you have a nice blend of new and native soil.
Take the lavender out of the pot and gently loosen the root ball pulling away any roots that have grown in a circle around the pot.
Place the root ball in the hole with the growing crown of the lavender even with or an inch higher than the surrounding soil. Gently spread out the roots and back fill the hole around the root ball leaving a shallow depression around your plant. Fill the depression with water to settle the soil around the roots adding more soil if necessary and water again. Water daily tapering off as the lavender roots grow and get established.
Watering and Care
Lavender is low maintenance and easy to care for. All you need to do is add a layer of mulch to help retain moisture and keep out competing weeds. Your lavender should get an inch of water each week and during dry spells give some water to keep the soil moist.
They usually do not need any fertilizer, but a light side dressing of organic fertilizer such as Espoma Plant-tone can be placed around the plant in the spring. To encourage more blooms, remove spent flowers.
Lavender should not be pruned too heavily the first year when it needs to get established with a good root system. The growing tips can be pinched to encourage side branching.
Lavender should be pruned after the second year to encourage new growth and prevent the old growth from getting woody. This woody growth is weak and prone to splitting under a snow load and leaving it unattractive.
In the spring when new growth emerges the low growing lavender varieties can be cut back to one or two inches above the ground. Taller varieties should have one-third of the oldest woody growth removed. This will keep the lavender filled in and lower in height.
Diseases and Pests
Lavender plants are able to tolerate most diseases and pests. The most common problems are aphids, spittle bugs and whiteflies.
It is always a good practice to look at all of your plants as you pass by. Insect populations can grow very quickly. Eggs are usually laid on the underside of the leaves and should be removed if you find any. The quickest way to knock the population down is to use a garden hose nozzle to wash them from the leaves and stems. Check every day and repeat to get rid of any you missed the day before. Yellow sticky traps can also be used to trap whiteflies.
For organic gardeners with serious problems, insecticidal soap or neem oil can be used. Always read and follow the instructions on the label.
Popular Varieties
Betty’s Blue, Big Time Blue, Buena Vista, Compacta, Elizabeth, English, Evermore Blue, Folgate, Forever Blue, Grosso, Lacy Frills, Lady, Munstead, Platinum Blonde, Phenomenal, Provence Blue, Rosea, Royal Velvet, Sweet.
Sources: Burpee, Gurney’s Seed & Nursery, Seeds Now.
Tips and Warnings
Lavender is difficult to start from seed. The easiest way to propagate lavender is from cuttings. When pruning just strip off the lower leaves from several 6 to 8-inch cuttings and stick them with at least 2-nodes into a pot of damp potting soil.
Garden Spikes newsletters give you timely information once or twice a month. Subscribe Free to the Garden Times newsletter below.
Your email address will only be used to send you a newsletter and will never be sold. You can unsubscribe at any time.
