| From the pages of Fine Gardening Magazine The Allure of Lavender Intoxicating scents, wandlike flowers, and gray-green foliage ensure its enduring popularity
My herb mentor and friend, Emma Wakefield, introduced me to lavender. As we walked down the path that wound through her garden, she pointed to varieties of lavender while reciting horticultural epithets and interesting facts about each. During Roman times, the mention of lavender conjured up images of Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) and French lavender (L. dentata) -- the herbs of choice at the Roman Baths. Many other species and cultivars have gained notoriety through the ages, including English lavender (L. angustifolia) for its superb oil quality and lavandin (L. x intermedia) for its long-stemmed flowers. See Exceptional lavender selections for a list of choice plants and their distinctive features. Interesting leaf colors and shapes attract the eye Flowers and foliage play important roles in determining a lavender's worth. Some lavenders have unusual flower heads, while others are garden standouts for the color and shape of their foliage. When judged for their foliage, lavenders with dentated (toothed) and silver-colored leaves are the most sought-after specimens. The small, spear-shaped leaves of lavenders are characteristically green when young and turn silvery-gray as they age. L. x intermedia 'Fred Boutin', a lavandin cultivar, is near the top of the list for foliage color. Its leaves brighten to a distinct silvery hue during the heat of the summer and stay silver into the winter months, when most lavenders become dull and uninspiring. Dentation, or the rounded, teethlike shapes that adorn the margins of some leaves, is another attractive feature of a few lavender species. The leaf margins of 'Goodwin Creek Grey' have just a few teeth at the basal end of the leaf, whereas the leaf margins of French lavender are uniformly toothed.
Dark-purple flowers are the best for drying For some lavender enthusiasts, the darker the color of a lavender's flowers, the more attractive the plant. I prefer lavenders with dark-purple flowers because they retain their color best when dried; so naturally I gravitate toward English lavender cultivars. And while 'Hidcote' is a superior and well-known English lavender, this cultivar does have rivals. 'Royal Velvet' sports dark-purple flowers on long flower stalks, while 'Sharon Roberts' performs as well as 'Hidcote' but is also a good rebloomer. Another worthwhile rebloomer is 'Two Seasons', which produces its deep-lavender-blue flowers first in June and then again in September.
Although the shapes of lavandin flowers may be less intriguing than those of Spanish lavender, these flowers make up for their lack of showiness by rising above the plant on incredibly long stalks. 'Grosso', which stands at 24 inches when in bloom, is my favorite lavandin. Its tapered flower head is a bit showier than the rest of the lavandins', and its fragrance has a pronounced hint of camphor. It's also the most versatile lavender for wand making. 'Provence' is another lavandin that is popular for its flower head and sweet, floral scent, but it tends to shed its flowers when cut and dried. Lavender should be harvested when the weather is dry. For details on how to go about collecting and drying this plant, see Harvesting lavender. Some pair superior foliage and flowers A few lavenders have earned my respect by possessing both interesting flowers and foliage. L. pinnata stands out in my garden for its silver-colored, dentated foliage and intense blue flowers that open in a spiral fashion along the flower head. Intricate dark veining adorns each flower.
L. viridis teases gardeners with foliage that smells like a cross between rosemary and lavender when brushed. Its evergreen foliage looks good in the garden, and its pinecone-shaped flower heads with yellow bracts add distinctiveness. L. x allardii is a lavender hybrid that flaunts silvery, slightly dentated leaves, and 6- to 8-inch-long flower stalks. This plant is similar to 'Goodwin Creek Grey', though it's much larger, growing into a 4- to 5-foot-tall shrub from a gallon-sized plant in just one growing season. A lavender's size and habit determine its use
The pinecone-shaped flowers and silver foliage of Spanish lavenders make them great specimen plants. I plant these medium-high growers in my beds to act as beacons among the many green-leaved perennials I grow. For example, their silvery, needlelike foliage provides contrast to, but also blends especially well with, the reddish-purple flowers of anise hyssops (Agastache foeniculum and A. mexicana cvs.).
The less hardy species make great container plants. By using L. viridis and L. pinnata as specimen plants in containers, I can appreciate the detail of their flowers and foliage up close. For another unusual garden accent in a container, I rely on 'Goodwin Creek Grey' for its silvery-white foliage and tapered flower heads that are an unusual dusky purple color. I also like 'Silver Frost' for its textured foliage. Lavenders like sun and well-draining soil
I feed lavenders only when planting them, and I use an organic fertilizer. Although fertilizing lavenders with a formula high in nitrogen as they get older will encourage growth, it does so at the expense of oil quality. If you're not concerned about harvesting your lavender for oil, then you can apply a balanced fertilizer at the start of each growing season. Also, when first planting out young plants, I cut off any flower stalks to divert the plants' energy into producing sturdy root and foliar growth instead of flowers. And I pinch the tips of any strong leaders or stems to encourage my lavenders to branch.
When grown in humid climates, lavenders can develop fungal and bacterial infections. One solution is to plant lavenders in containers in areas that experience humid summer weather to afford them better air circulation. Mulching with a couple of inches of coarse sand or grit around the base of the plants will help promote drainage and avoid moisture build-up that can lead to root rot and fungal disease. Keeping the area that surrounds your lavenders weed-free will also help to promote good air circulation. The best method for propagating lavender is to take 2- to 4-inch-long semi-ripe stem cuttings in summer. Semi-ripe stems are still pliable, but will snap when bent. Remove the leaves from the bottom of the cutting, dip the end into rooting hormone, and place it into damp soilless mix. Since lavenders are susceptible to disease in humid conditions, keep the cuttings in a well-ventilated area until they have rooted. After a few weeks, cuttings that have grown roots can be potted up. These plants can be transferred into the garden in fall. Lavenders can also be grown from seed, but cultivars never come true. Prune them back in stages It takes lavender two to three years to reach maximum flower and foliage production. You can then harvest flowers and take cuttings to start new plants until a plant is about five years old, when flower output starts to decline. In the seventh year, woody growth develops, flower production decreases, and all the foliage is concentrated at the top of the plant. When I come across an old plant that I'd like to save, I first take cuttings and then try to rehabilitate the plant by pruning it. Pruning a lavender to the point where it has no foliage will most likely kill it, so I prune mine back only in small increments. In spring, I cut the foliage back by one third to stimulate new growth. Then, after the new foliage has grown in, I cut that back by one third to stimulate new growth at the base of the plant. If new growth does break at the base of the plant, I prune the plant back to just above the new growth. I never prune out old wood unless it is completely dead. With so many lavenders to choose from, it might be hard to settle on just one (to obtain the selections mentioned in this article, see Sources for lavender plants). Of course, that's the beauty of loving lavender. There's no need to limit yourself. The fun is choosing the lavender that's right for your conditions, and taking the time to stop and smell the flowers.
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