Lavender Stories: How does it grow?
Lavender is a timeless plant with a multitude of culinary, medicinal and decorative uses. Growing lavender in your garden adds lush waves of magic color and fragrance from late spring into the fall. Lavender comes a large number of species and hybrids the most common varieties have fairly simple propagation needs.
Let’s get started with a look at the standard climatic growing zones and the most common garden species of lavender you should/could start with.
Lavenders are divided into four main groups:
English Lavender (zones 5-8): Lavandula angustifolia often referred to as common lavender, it is the most widely grown species. It’s rugged and cold-hardy and can thrive in summers that a less heat intensive. With a sweet fragrance and hardiness this species makes a versatile choice. English Lavender is also commonly used in dried-flower production and in extracted essential oils. There are a number of popular varieties including Hidecote, Munstead and Buena Vista. Culinary gardeners love these lavenders.
Lavandin Hybrids (Zones 5-10): “Lavandins” are English Lavender Hybrids that are late bloomers and have high essential oil content. Lavandins have big, grayish/green leaves and are known for their rapid growth and powerful fragrance.
French Lavender (Zones 8): Lavandula dentata are a fast growing spreading very fast. The French variety has beautiful purple-blue flowers that thrive in the warmer regions. Another common name for this species is ‘fringed lavender’, and some varieties are also grown as annuals, instead of perennials. French varieties have a light fragrance with a smidgen of rosemary scent with it.
Spanish Lavender (Zones 7-10): (Lavandula stoechas), have silvery-ish leaves with larger flowers with robust, cone-like petals as a top. Spanish lavenders are a little more tolerant of humidity than their cousins. This species is great as a focal-point and Spanish lavenders performs well in containers.
In general, English lavenders are the better for cooler climates, north to Zone 5, but keep in mind. They grow best in sheltered areas and need winter protection. Gardening in very hot, humid climates, Spanish and French lavenders are the best choices, good spacing is highly recommended. For those living in areas with harsher winters you can easily grow lavender in containers just by ensuring they receive minimum of eight hours of direct sunlight a day and with good potting mix as well as good drainage. These containers can thrive in a sunny window during the winter.
Seed or transplanted Lavender:
You can grow lavender from seed or transplant store bought plants.
If you are purchasing lavender plants to transplant into your garden make sure they are robust and healthy looking. Make sure to select a location for your lavender that receives full sunlight for eight hours a day. Provide consistent watering until the lavender becomes established in its new environment. The only other maintenance is to prune back your lavender each spring. Growing Lavender from Seed takes up to three years to grow to get big enough for cutting.
The germination process takes two to four weeks so it’s a good idea to do the seeding sprouting process indoors where the environment can be maintained in a consistent manner. The lavender seeds should be planted one inch apart. The potting mix should just cover the seeds. Keep the container moist and warm (65 to 70 degrees F).
Once the lavender sprouts reach two or three inches, you should start increasing the amount of light they receive daily gently acclimating the seedlings to the outdoor environment. This process is called ‘hardening off’. Once they are climatized plant them outdoors in well-drained soil where they can receive plenty of direct sunlight.
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