How to grow Lavender ?
Lavender (Lavandula) is an evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean. Thanks to its charming blue flowers, wonderful aroma and the availability of interesting ornamental lavender varieties, this plant is more and more often found in our gardens.
Read on to find out what properties lavender has, what its uses are and how to grow lavender in your garden. In a moment you will learn how to buy lavender seedlings, how to plant them, whether it is possible to grow lavender from seeds, and how to reproduce and cut lavender.
Lavender – properties and use
Lavender, associated mainly with lavender fields in French Provence, is more and more often used in other countries. It is not surprising, since lavender’s decorative, cosmetic and healing properties are highly valued.
The lavender flowers, which we can admire from mid-June to September, determine the decorative value. They are placed on long and thin stalks, they can sway gently in the wind, spreading an intoxicating scent. Most often they are blue or purple in color, but depending on the species and variety of lavender, the flowers can also be white or pink.
The cosmetic properties of lavender are mainly related to the influence of lavender oil on skin lesions. Substances contained in it, such as cineole, geraniol, limonene, sabinene, support scarring and treatment of various types of skin lesions. The high content of tannins (compounds with astringent and drying properties) supports the treatment of skin damage, e.g. burns or abrasions.
Lavender infusions support the absorption of hematomas and bruises. Thus, we reach the healing properties of lavender. In addition to treating skin lesions, lavender oil used for inhalation may act as an auxiliary in the treatment of colds, bronchitis and tonsillitis. Lavender flower infusions have a diaphoretic and warming effect.
Plant is also in use in the kitchen. Lavender flowers and leaves, due to their digestive aid properties, are an excellent seasoning for hard-to-digest dishes – fatty meats and desserts.
On hot summer evenings, both in garden flower beds and grown in pots on balconies and terraces, lavender is an effective repellent for mosquitoes. Its smell can also scare away clothing moths.
As if that were not enough, lavender is also a great tick repellent and ant repellent. As it turns out, what looks beautiful and smells wonderful to us is not by bothersome insects. And lavender is one of the few plants that works against such a wide spectrum of nuisance insects.
Of course, planting 1 or 2 lavenders will not solve the problem, but if we plant, for example, a whole row of lavender around the terrace or plant other insect-repelling plants next to it, we can significantly reduce the number of mosquitoes, ticks or ants.
How To Buy Good Lavender Seedlings?
In our climate, lavender can become sick or freeze quite easily. Therefore, it is very important to choose not only healthy and strong plants to grow, but also to choose the species and variety of lavender that will do well in our garden.
Although there are over 50 species and varieties of this plant known, the most suitable for our climate is the narrow-leaved lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), sometimes known as English lavender, which grows up to 70 cm in height.
Good quality lavender seedlings, just like many other plants, should be sought directly from nurserymen or garden stores. In such places plants are properly tended, described with the name of the species and varieties, with a known source of origin.
Pay attention to whether the plants look too dry or, on the other hand, excessively damp. Lavender seedlings watered too intensively, kept in the long-term shade of storage rooms (which often happens in warehouses of large-format stores) may have damaged roots and, after purchase, they will start to die quickly.
How to grow Lavender in the garden
To ensure success in the cultivation of lavender, it is necessary to prepare an appropriate position that reflects the natural conditions in which lavender grows. First of all, it must be a very sunny position with light, well-drained, alkaline soil, pH 6.5 – 7.5. Moderately rich in nutrients.
The lavender growing site should be airy, as lavender requires good air circulation. Therefore, plants should not be planted in excessive densities or in depressions of the terrain. In places where it is too humid and the terrains are excessively sheltered from the wind.
In such conditions, lavender is easily susceptible to fungal diseases. The plant also does not like too heavy, loamy soil. Therefore, before planting lavender, it is worth loosening the soil by adding sand and well-decomposed compost.
Although lavender likes soil that is not too wet, it is important to water your plants regularly. Especially during periods of drought, and with newly planted plants. Remember not to sprinkle the leaves and flowers, and to deliver water directly to the ground.
When lavender is grown in pots and balcony boxes, the plants should be watered frequently. It should be with small amounts of water, so that the lavender never stays in the wet soil. But also that the soil in the pot is not completely dry for a long time.
Lavender cutting and harvesting
Cutting lavender is an important care step in the cultivation of this plant. There are two types of cutting – care (forming) cutting and cutting flower shoots for bouquets.
To obtain dense and regular plants, they should be pruned every fall, shortening the shoots in half. The primary term for a lavender forming cut is September.
Sometimes, however, in extremely favorable warm weather, in which lavender repeats flowering, the cutting date can be delayed. However, it is important to complete all care cuts at least 4 weeks before the first frosts arrive. Lavender trimmed too late will be susceptible to freezing.
Caring for lavender in spring is not recommended because of the possible damage to flower buds that are just setting. Therefore, we run the risk that the lavender flowering will be much weaker.
Another thing is the lavender harvest, that is, the cutting of flower shoots for bouquets. It is worth making this cut in the early stage of flowering. Thanks to which the lavender bouquets will be more durable.
Lavender propagation
Lavender propagation is done by sowing seeds, cuttings or layering.
Seeds intended for sowing can be bought or obtained by ourselves, harvesting from our own cultivation. Seedlings usually do not repeat the varietal characteristics and this method allows us to reproduce mainly pure species.
Lavender seeds are harvested when they are dry and black (ripe) and sown in boxes in April. It is necessary to prepare the seeds before sowing, by cooling them for several weeks.
Use brtoadcast seeding to sow seeds and then lightly cover them with sand. Emergence can be expected after approximately 6 weeks. The plants should be left in a quiet place until the next spring, adequately covered. In order to branch out, it is worth removing them. We plant young lavenders in the fall.
Lavender propagation from cuttings is the primary method of reproduction of narrow-leaved lavender varieties and its hybrids (Lavandula x intermedia). The best time to pick lavender seedlings is the end of summer – from the second half of August to the beginning of September.
Cut healthy and strong shoots for the cuttings, and the cut should be a section already woody with a slightly brown color. The seedling is also cut from the top so that the excess leaves do not cause too much water loss when the plant has no roots and cannot take it up from the soil.
Before planting into the ground, it is worth immersing the lower tips of the cuttings in the rooting agent. After planting, the plants are watered with a fine stream of water and covered with agrotextile to create a space between plants with increased air humidity.
The last recommended way is to propagate lavender by layering. To do this, choose the longest possible lavender sprout and bend it by attaching it to the ground, e.g. with a U-shaped wire.
In the following year, new roots will grow and the laydown can be cut from the mother plant. It can be transplanted to a new place in the fall.
