
Planting, Growing, and Caring for Lavender Flowers
- English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), the most common, is hardy to USDA Zone 5. It’s edible and often blooms twice a season. Hundreds of varieties exist in many colors (white, pink, blue-violet, and purple) and sizes.
- ‘Hidcote’: deep purple flowers; silver-gray foliage; compact form
- ‘Munstead’: violet-blue flowers; dark green foliage; compact form
- ‘Miss Katherine’: deep pink flowers; aromatic foliage; mounding form
- Lavandins (L. x intermedia)—a hybrid of English and Portuguese lavender (L. latifolia)—are generally larger plants that bloom only once yearly, later in the summer.
- ‘Phenomenal’: vigorous variety highly tolerant of heat and humidity; resistant to common root and foliar diseases; long flower spikes
- ‘Provence’: vigorous, long-stemmed variety; very fragrant
- Spanish lavender (L. stoechas) and French (fringed) lavender (L. dentata) are typically only winter-hardy in Zones 7 to 9.
Recipes
Cooking Notes
Although edible, lavender should be used sparingly in recipes. The herb has a lovely perfumed flavor, but it can be too strong or bitter if overused.
The herb is often used in herbes de Provence mixes, and leaves can be chopped and added sparingly to some sauces, shortbread biscuits and baked goods, ice cream, teas, and lemonade.
See our recipe for lavender scones and honey-lavender syrup, as well as a recipe for making your own lavender-herb tea.
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I live in southern (lower peninsula) Michigan from fall to spring and spend my summers in the southern (upper peninsula). When should I start the plants in a greenhouse (spring) and when would it be best to transplant them in the UP?
Hi, Faith. You should start your seeds anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks before you are planning to transplant. If you are transplanting in UP, that date would be around the last week of May into early June.
I'm told that lavender repels mosquitos. Is that factual or just another internet rumor?
Multiple studies have found that the oil derived from crushed lavender leaves can in fact work as a mosquito repellent. I don’t know of studies, however, that have shown that the plant in its natural form bothers mosquitoes much. Here’s a collection of some of our thoughts on natural repellents: https://www.almanac.com/plants-repel-mosquitoes-and-insects
I live in zone 3 northern Minnesota. Can I bring lavender in the house to over winter?
You can! In fact, we have a whole article about how to overwinter lavender.
Can you grow lavender in pots and they will come
Back yearly? Or is it best to plant them in the
Ground? Thanks.
We are moving in a and I would like to take my lavender with me, what is the best way to go about potting the plant?
Goodness, you are moving a lot of plants, based on other comments. I’m not sure we can get to them all, but here are tips on transplanting lavender. Move in cool weather when the plant is dormant. As with most plants, gently dig a wide circle to get as much of the root ball intact as well as the soil around it. You can also cut back the lavender by a third before transferring.
Assuming you’re putting in a pot temporarily, just at soil to pot and ensure te root ball is at the same depth as it was before. Pat soil around root ball but don’t cover the crown! Water.
Our lavender plants were put into the ground a week and a half ago and now look like they are dying. We have kept them watered. Any suggestions, thank you