Spring planting doesn’t start when the air feels warm, It...Read More
Common English Lavender, also known as Vera Lavender, is a popular plant known for its fragrant flowers and foliage. This plant grows as a compact, bushy shrub with narrow leaves and small, tubular bluish-purple flowers. It can reach a height of 2 to 3 feet and a spread of 2 to 4 feet and can be grown in large planter pots for an aromatic addition to porch or patio gardens. The strong and sweet fragrance is commonly thought to produce a calming effect and is popularly cultivated for use in essential oils, perfumes, potpourri and other fragrances. This plant is edible as well and can be used as a garnish or in baked goods and mixed drinks for a unique and light floral flavor. Once established, Common English Lavender is drought tolerant and requires very little maintenance beyond occasional pruning to shape the plant and encourage new growth.
NAME: Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
VARIETY: Common English Vera
DAYS TO MATURITY: 90 – 110 days
POLLINATION: Open Pollinated
TYPE: Perennial
STATIFICATION: Required: cold/wet, 4 weeks
HARDINESS ZONE: Zones 4 – 10
SUNLIGHT: Full Sun
SOIL: Loamy, dry soils with a pH 6.5 – 7.0
SPACING: 18 – 24 inches
PLANT HEIGHT: 24 – 36 inches
TEMP: 55 – 95ºF
Lavender seeds must be stratified before planting otherwise germination will not occur. To do this, mix your seeds with sterile sand or sandwiched between a wet paper towel placed in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator for 30 days. After 30 days, you can immediately use the seed since it is ready for the opportunity to germinate
To learn more about Stratification, click here!
After you have stratified your seeds, start your seeds in cell trays or small pots with moist potting soil 2 weeks before your last local spring frost.
Keep the soil evenly moist and temperatures above 65ºF and germination will occur in 20 to 30 days.
Provide light with a sunny windowsill or beneath grow lights.
When seedlings reach 2 to 3 inches tall, harden off seedlings for several days. Do this by taking them outside during the day and bringing them in at night (Outside temps should be above 50°F when you start this process)
Locate an area that receives full sun with loose, well-draining soil.
After stratification is completed, sow seeds 1/4 inch deep, spaced two inches apart, directly into garden beds after your last local spring frost.
When seedlings sprout thin them out so they are spaced 6 inches apart.
Once they grow to be a few inches tall, thin out once more so they are spaced 24 to 36 inches apart.
Lavender is drought tolerant and likes warm weather, but regular watering will enhance its quality and performance.
It does well in sandy, rocky, loamy soils.
In early Spring you can prorogate and divide the plant to transplant into other areas.
The proper amount of moisture is crucial to young lavender plants. Too much water can kill them, but until they are established, they need soil that is fairly moist.
Mulching the plants with woodchips is helpful to absorb heat and control weeds.
In the plant’s first year of growth, pruning the flowers that appear will help it to grow healthy roots and foliage.
Mature plants also benefit from yearly, careful pruning.
The best time to harvest lavender is in the morning after the dew has dried.
For drying, harvest stalks with just a few buds open; at this stage the fragrant oils have reached their peak.
For fresh use, harvest stalks with more of the buds open.
Dry bundles of lavender upside down in a cool, dark place for a week or more; to save the buds, strip them from the stalks.
