Planting DesignDiscover the right plants for your garden.
Sweet Romance ® lavender . Photo by : Proven Winners
Although it hails from the Mediterranean , English lavender was so named because it has long been a staple in English herb garden and is perfectly content growing in cool climates . In addition to being one of the most dusty - tolerant lavender varieties , it is also one of the most attractive . The gentle gray-haired - unripe foliage and dainty majestic flowers make it a good comrade for many other garden plants . And its airy , bush - like form lend itself to both conventional and informal setting .
“ Gardeners who limit their use of English lavender to the herbaceous plant garden should expand their thinking , ” says Jeff Cox , author ofPerennial All - Stars . “ Few things are as pretty as a with child swath of English lavender in full bloom . ”
On this pageboy : Basics|Planting|Care|Varieties|Harvesting & Preserving
BASICS
Botanical name:
Lavandula angustifolia
Plant type:
Woody perennial
Zones:
5 - 9
Exposure:
Full sunlight
Size:
1 to 3 feet tall , 2 to 4 feet panoptic
Bloom time:
too soon to late summertime , with the blooms lasting 2 months or long .
Foliage:
Narrow and gig - determine , up to 2 1/2 inches long . Silvery to gray - Green River in gloss , remain evergreen in warm climates .
Flowers:
Typically fill in of lavender or mysterious purpleness , although some cultivar have loose pink or white-hot flower
Special attributes:
Toxicity:
Lavender contains a small amount of linalool , a chemical compound that may be toxic to weenie and cats , according to theASPCA , specially if take in large quantities .
PLANTING ENGLISH LAVENDER
crown : Although English lavender will support summer heat energy , it grows poorly in climates that have extremely red-hot , humid summers , preferring more temperate conditions . If you garden in the Deep South , consider plantingSpanish lavender(Lavandula stoechas ) , which is more broad of high heat and humidness ( seeCommon Types of Lavender ) .
When to plant:
In the spring after the soil has warmed up and the threat of frost has overtake . If planting in the declension , give plants time for their tooth root to establish before wintertime .
Where to plant:
In a site that get full Lord’s Day ( at least 6 hours day by day ) in loose , loyal - draining , flaxen soil . void planting in punishing clay soils and in low spots prone to resist pee . Because beneficial drain is essential , consider growing your plants in mound , nurture beds , or on slopes . Arock gardenis also an excellent location for this drouth - patient of industrial plant .
How to plant:
Lavender is often develop from nursery - started plants . Seeds do comfortably when start with bottom heat , and may sometimes have low or quicksilver sprouting . Space plants about 2 to 3 feet part , depending on their breadth at maturity .
Growing in containers:
If your wintertime are harsh or your stain is weighty and heavy , count growing English lavender in containers in a high - calibre potting mix with good drainage . In winter , bring your container plants indoors and place them in a cheery windowpane where they will receive four to six hours of bright , lineal sunlight day by day . Learn to grow lavender in potty .
ENGLISH LAVENDER CARE
photograph by : Ienic / Shutterstock
Watering:
Thanks to its Mediterranean ancestry , English lavender is drought tolerant once established and only needs subsidiary watering during keep up ironic spells . However , new plants should be watered regularly ( every other day for the first week after institute , then once or twice a calendar week until roots become established ) . Depending on your location , lavender may require some watering during winter , particularly if in containers .
Tip : Watering English lavender too frequently can cause root and crown decompose and is the most common reason plants conk out . For conventional works , it ’s best to slip on the side of underwatering rather than overwatering .
Amendments and fertilizer:
Do not use any amendments , specially compost or other organic matter when planting . flora grown in poor , arenaceous , or rocky soils will be salubrious and longer - lived than those grown in humus - rich dirt . eating is broadly speaking not necessary . Over - fertilized plants will often farm fewer flowers .
Pruning and deadheading:
Prune lavender back by 1/3 to 1/2 its height in spring after new leaves emerge to excite ontogenesis and keep plant from seem scraggly . Make the cut just above the raw foliage ontogenesis rather than cutting into the woody base , since lavender will not develop back from erstwhile wood . ( The exclusion is dead or damaged stems , which should be take the right way down to the base of the plant ) . Another light clip in June 21 , aright after the first bloom of heyday , will often promote repetition flowering . See more onpruning lavender .
Overwintering:
In climate where temperatures sink below zero degrees Fahrenheit , insulate your plants with a winter mulch of evergreen boughs , shredded leave-taking , or straw , especially if there ’s a lack of Baron Snow of Leicester natural covering . Proper soil drain is also essential to constitute survival of the fittest in areas with cold , damp winters .
Propagation:
From stem cuttings taken from newfangled increment in other summer .
Pests and diseases:
Lavender has few pest or disease trouble , but is susceptible to Phytophthora root and crown rot , particularly if the ground around the base of the flora remains wet for long periods of time . Septoria leaf spot , a fungous disease that infects the surface tissues of the plant life ’s leaf , can also be a problem . The best mastery measures are to avoid overhead watering and provide good air circulation around your works .
ENGLISH LAVENDER VARIETIES
Photo by : Proven succeeder
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Height and spread:12 to 18 inches grandiloquent and wide
One of the shorter lavender assortment , with vivid violet - purpleness flower topping hefty mound of silvery green foliation . Begins to flower a bit in the first place in the season than other varieties , with the flowers often lasting into former fall . Clusters of petite flowers appear at the leaf nodes , in summation to the concluding inflorescence , adding color all along the stem .
exposure by : Walters Gardens , Inc.
' Hidcote '
A heavyset var. with slender spike heel of tightly bunched , dark blue - empurpled prime . For arresting demarcation with the deep imperial blooms , industrial plant with sun - get laid perennial with chickenhearted flower , such as ‘ Coronation Gold’yarrowandblack - eyed Susan .
' Munstead '
Height and spread:18 to 24 inches tall , 24 to 36 in wide
One of the oldest and most popular lavender miscellany , prized for its sweet perfumed violet - aristocratical heyday and wonderful herbal feel in culinary applications . Ideal for use as a humiliated hedge or to create gorgeous impetus of color in mass plantings . Exhibits greater heat energy permissiveness than some other types .
picture by : Apichart Vanthin / Shutterstock
' Ellagance Snow '
Height and spread:12 to 14 inches tall , 10 to 12 inches wide
A nice change - of - footstep from the traditional purple - flowered lavender , with obtuse spikes of lily-white blooms held above silvery gray foliage . A beautiful addition to amoon garden , bringing a hint of fragrance to the evening melodic line .
Photo by : Rock Giguere / Millette Photomedia
' SuperBlue '
Height and spread:10 to 12 inches tall and wide
One of the most thickset lavender , with dark lavender efflorescence complementing argent unripe foliage . Densely packed blossom spikes have fewer gaps than most cultivars , making for an vivid color show . Reaching only 12 column inch at due date , it is a perfect option for edging a walkway or arise in containers .
photograph by : J Need / Shutterstock
' Miss Katherine '
tallness and spread:24 inch tall , 18 inches wide
An recherche pink - flowering lavender , load with showy spike of pale pinkish flowers deem on marvellous , unsloped stem above mounds of gray - green foliation . The blooms carry their color well even in hot clime .
TIPS FOR HARVESTING & PRESERVING ENGLISH LAVENDER
In addition to its many culinary U.S. , English lavender is often harvested for both fresh and dried flowered arrangements , sachets , and potpourris , make it a suitable addition to acutting garden . To maintain the fragrance and color of your clippings , be these harvest tips .
