
Planting, Growing, and Caring for Lavender Flowers
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Types
- 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.
Gardening Products
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.
Comments
I'm told that lavender repels mosquitos. Is that factual or just another internet rumor?
I live in zone 3 northern Minnesota. Can I bring lavender in the house to over winter?
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?
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?