Violet flower spikes carried through summer above evergreen foliage, on a shrub reaching 2 to 4 feet: this is true lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), the lavender most widely cultivated for its extracts and long prized by English perfume makers. Give it full sun and soil that drains freely, and the drier it grows, the stronger its scent.
| Name | Lavandula angustifolia |
|---|---|
| Family | Lamiaceae |
| Type | herbaceous shrub |
| Height | 2 to 4 feet (0.6 to 1 m) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | very well-drained, ordinary to alkaline |
| Foliage | evergreen |
| Flowering | summer |
Learn how to care for Lavandula angustifolia in the garden and in containers for fragrant violet blooms.
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Although it can cope with slightly acidic soil, best is to plant lavender in neutral or alkaline ground.
Plant either in fall or spring preferably. If it doesn’t freeze, it’s also possible to plant in winter.
It’s actually more difficult to grow common lavender in a container than it is in the ground.
Indeed, potted plants are more vulnerable both to under- and over-watering.
Crucial point is to make sure the mix drains well. A bottle of water poured into the pot filled with soil mix should drain out the bottom within seconds.
Apart from that, though, your Lavandula angustifolia will only rarely need any fertilizer.
Terracotta pots let moisture evaporate through their porous walls, which suits Lavandula angustifolia far better than glazed or plastic containers.
Blend a generous third of coarse grit or sharp sand into the potting mix, and avoid composts sold with water-retaining granules.
Roots in a pot freeze much faster than those in open ground, so shift the container against a sheltered sunny wall when hard frost threatens.
Common lavender can be grown either in open ground or in a container, but the two ask for very different habits from the gardener. This table sets out what changes, so you can decide before you plant.
| Point of care | In the ground | In a container |
|---|---|---|
| Overall difficulty | The easier of the two | Harder: pots swing between too dry and too wet |
| Watering | Once on planting, then only in extreme drought | Only when the soil is dry a finger deep |
| Feeding | None needed | Flower plant fertilizer, as the label recommends |
| Drainage test | Very well-drained, ordinary to alkaline soil | A bottle of water must run out of the base within seconds |
Whichever you choose, drainage is the one thing that decides whether the plant lives.
Usually cuttings are used to prepare new specimens.
Seeds and simply splitting the bunch in two also work well.
For professional purposes, micro-propagation is generally applied.
The less this lavender is watered, the stronger its essential oils will be. To have a very fragrant plant, don’t water at all!
Only upon planting and perhaps only during extreme droughts after that should the plant be watered (except for container growing).
In the weeks just after planting, give a little water whenever the weather stays dry, then gradually leave the lavender to fend for itself once new growth appears.
Never leave water standing in the pot saucer.
Mulch around the base with gravel or coarse grit rather than compost or bark, which holds damp against the woody collar.
Make your own fermented weed fertilizer as a more natural and affordable solution!
For some varieties, deadheading – removing spent flowers – will trigger a second round of blooming.
Empty the saucer under a potted lavender after every watering.
Avoid spreading manure or rich compost around the base, because the soft, leafy growth it triggers comes at the cost of fragrance and winter resilience.
L. angustifolia cannot take severe pruning. You must always prune on recently grown wood.
Prune at the end of winter.
With proper soil structure that drains well, the chances of your L. angustifolia contracting disease are slim.
Root rot, on the other hand, is very common. It is the direct result of overwatering and poorly draining soil.
However, you needn’t fear caterpillars nor aphids: this plant repels them well, even if some white butterflies love to drink its nectar!
There are a great many L. angustifolia varieties. They vary in size, color, fragrance and hardiness.
The main ones found in horticulture stores are the ‘Hidcote’, ‘Munstead’ and ‘Melissa’ varieties.
Of course, one must also mention the many hybrids that are collectively classified as L. x intermedia.
Early on, ancient Pharaohs were embalmed using Egyptian lavender, and since then all peoples and tribes of the Mediterranean have grown it for health, cooking and beauty.
Its fragrance and clean, round shape is why laundry cleaners of old would spread cleaned linens and clothing atop it to dry. This gave these women their title: “les lavandières“!
Lavandula angustifolia is native to the Northern half of that small ocean, in locations that are extremely rocky and dry. The concentration of essential oils helped the plant defend itself against pests and diseases, and the fragrance attracts pollinators from very far away!
Today, it is the variety of lavender most cultivated and grown for its extracts. In recent times, this hardy variety was prized by English perfume makers and landscapers, leading to a new common name for the species: English lavender.
Drainage is the key to keeping your Lavandula alive. Make sure water can seep away before it starts rotting the roots!
Plant common lavender on a slight mound or a raised bank so rain runs away from the crown instead of pooling around it.
On heavy clay, work coarse grit or sand into the planting hole and the surrounding soil, not just the hole itself, or you simply create a sump that holds water.
For potted specimens, use an unglazed terracotta pot and tip any water out of the saucer once it has drained through.
