Lavender is a great scented plant. I've had some for many years. I'm having a renewed interest in them, so I've been reading up. Lavender is a good xeriscape plant, doing best with minimal watering, having waxy, scented leaves, deer resistant, rabbit resistant, and appealing to sense of smell as well as sight. Types of lavender. English Lavender. Lavandula angustifolia. Also called true lavender. Despite its name, English lavender originates in Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, and not England. Does best in Mediterranean climates, dry summer, wet winter. survives in US to zone 6 through 8 although I've also seen reports that it can survive in Zone 4. Some consider English lavender to have the most refined scent. link to image - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lavandula_angustifolia_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-087.jpg French Lavender. Lavandula dentata. Despite its name, French lavender is native to the Mediterranean basin, Eritria, Ethiopia, Yemen, and the Arabian Peninsula. Also, sometimes Lavandula stoaches is called French Lavender. Milder scent than English lavender. French lavender isn't as cold tolerant as English lavender. French Lavender needs a warmer climate than English, surviving zones 8 through 11. Some cultivars may survive Zone 7. link to image - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lavandula_dentata1.jpg Spanish Lavender. Lavandula stoechas. All I could find was that these were named for the Stoechas islands, off SE France, discovered by ancient Greek pharmacologist doctor Pendanius Dioscorides. Wikipedia says Mediterranean basin. It's considered a weed in parts of Spain, and invasive in parts of Australia. Hardy in US Zones 8 - 10. link to image - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavandula_stoechas#/media/File:Lavandula_stoechas_1.JPG Portuguese Lavender. Lavandula latifolia. Native to the Western Mediterranean, including parts of Central Portugal, Spain, Southern France, and Northern Italy. Stronger, more pungent scent than English Lavender. Survives US Zones 8 - 10. Lavendin. Lavandula x intermedia, but sometimes called Dutch lavender These are hybrids of English lavender x Portuguese lavender. Grown mainly for producing lavender oil. Stronger scent than the others, but considered a bit sharp. (I tried to link to wikipedia descriptions. the info is from there and various other websites). I think it's kind of odd, none of the geographic - related common names really matches to the precise origin of that species. There are so many varieties, I think the details of size and flower appearance are better left to the label or nursery descriptions, instead of the species. For places with colder winters, English lavender seem like a better choice. Most reports state that Lavender prefers well drained soils, and relatively drier climates. It seems to do fine here, where the winters are very rainy. They claim that cuttings are easy. Layering is easier and gives a bigger plant with less care. That seems like a good idea. I'm trying some cuttings now. I have had some layer themselves, giving new plants. They should be pruned each Spring, back to a bit above the start of last year's growth. That will keep them tidier and less sprawling. Apparently, they tend to not survive extreme pruning, back to leafless wood. They need tenderer new growth to make new growth. Later, will see if I can add a couple of photos of mine, to avoid copyright issues.
Here are a couple of images. I don't have the variety names any more. French Lavender. English Lavender Spanish Lavender.
Daniel Great information on the many faces of lavender. A great topic of discussion. Lavender plants are hardy and they grow in any soil as long as it has good drainage. I have English , French and Spanish. I would like to try fernleaf lavender Lavandula pinnata. There are so many uses for lavender , let me count the ways. I like to collect the flowers and leaves let dry , then spread the dried lavender on the floor when I vacuum this is a great way to freshen up the house. Make sachets for closets and clothing drawers good to keep moths away. Even collect lavender with wisteria flowers dried together and toss at bride and grooms at weddings. Lavender icecream recipe’s and teas online. Lavender oils for spicing up oils for hand spas and treat dry skin. Lavender oil used in a diffuser in any room is a great way to relax it has a calming effect. Bath salts and bath oils. Not only is lavender deer proof it’s also mole, vole, mice , ground squirrel proof. Next time I start a garden I will start with rows of lavender to surround the garden just to keep the deer out. Daniel you posted your plants while I was writing this post. I wanted to add how beautiful your plants are and just seeing them I swear I can smell them.
Thanks for your thoughts, Pac. I enjoy strongly scented plants. Also ones with distinctive foliage. I hope these will flourish through the winter, and next year too.
Daniel—Very good posting. I haven’t read anything about Lavender in donkeys ears. I used to grow some and even tried to propagate some. Some types of Lavender grows over here in some gardens, but I believe that the conditions are ideal. Nettie, who gardened a few gardens up from us used to let me prune hers to use in my bee smoker. I imagined that they were calmer when I used the stems and heads with the wood shavings or egg cartons. Anyway Daniel— this posting of yours is laid out well and gives us insight to the world of the Lavender plant. I think your posting can help folks choose the type of plant they may want to try in a container or garden plots. Well done for this helpful article. p.s. I liked the pics you added.
Daniel, a lot of information about lavender and thanks, i found that the English lavender does well in my garden, I've got some that's self seeded in the tarmac path by my border. The seeds got into some cracks.
Here are my lavender seedlings now. I wanted varieties that I can't buy at the store. November might seem very early to start seeds, but I read they can be slow. I wanted to give them an early start, to have a better chance to bloom next year. Most of these are compact varieties that are sold as blooming their first year. This is my growing arrangement, an LED plant stand. Despite everything I read about lavender needing a heat mat, and needing a stratification in the fridge, I saw one video that said none of that was necessary. They should be at room temp, but have light. The seeds should be on the surface of the seed starting medium, not buried. The lavender seedlings are the left two trays. The tray on the right is Pelargonium (Geraniums to us on the west side of the big pond) seedlings. This tray is about three weeks old. The varieties are Bandera Deep Rose, Bandera Purple, and Blue Spear. These are about four weeks old. They have started to grow their first true leaves. The varieties are Bandera Deep Rose and Vicenza Blue. Two cells are not planted with anything. So far this is a lot of fun. If they continue to grow, there will be plenty next year for containers plus a long xeric border.
As long as I'm on lavender, indoors, here are some others. This was at the grocery store a few weeks ago, very inexpensive. It's an interesting variety, "Goodwin Creek Grey", a spontaneous hybrid between Lavandula lanata and Lavandula dentata. L. lanata is native to Spain, a wooly leaf variety. L. dentata is sold as French lavender, native to the Mediterranean basin, parts of North Africa, and the Arabian basin. I'm just keeping it inside until late winter. I think could be too late to plant outside now. So far - a month - it seems to be thriving. These are cuttings of Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas) that I started last summer. I didn't try very hard, but they survived and are growing now. This is Lavandula dentata. (French lavender). I had two plants. I read they may not survive a bitter winter, so I potted one plant and left the other outdoors, as an experiment. It's doing well. For now, the one outdoors is more vigorous. Last, this is a miracle of the toughness of lavender. As I cleaned up a border area that had "re-wilded" for a few years, I found a scraggly 24-year-old lavender plant that had survived three replantings, then being buried by blackberries. I dug it out, and a small piece broke off. The larger piece died, but the small one, after pruning top and roots and planting in potting soil, really looks pretty good. It was almost completely leafless and dead looking in August when I found it. I think this one is English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), which is a Mediterranean native. This is my set-up for these. They are in the sunroom, with LED lights because there really isn't much sun here in the winter. There are also some growing sage and rosemary cuttings there.
Daniel—I forgot to ask you: is that sage the type you cook with? That Lavender rescue-miracle- story really was amazing to read
Sjoerd, yes, that's culinary sage. It's not my favorite herb. I like rosemary and basil, better. But it's a good deer- and rabbit- resistant, highly dry tolerant plant. My guess, the lavender variety is Hidcote or Munstead. If I wanted to give it a special name, I might call it Lazarus.
Daniel— Ha,ha…Lazerus. The Hidcote is a lovely one with its thick flower group. I really like those ones. There is also a Hebe ‘Hidcote’…also a beauty. Anyway— your work is legend, mate. Well done.
OH Yes Hebe Hidcote is a great little shrub.. easy to start from cuttings this time of year. I started a few from cuttings from a friend years ago and they’re still ticking. It grew so fast - small shrub with purple color leaves on one side and green on the opposite and had beautiful blue/purple blooms at the stem tips resembling lavender blooms. No fragrance thou. They are tough lil shrubs. I highly recommend them or any hebe. They are easy care not a lot of trimming, small leaves and hold their own thru whatever the PNW winters can dish out. Bless those cute garden Hebe’s.
