Lavender is one of the easiest plants to grow when it benefits from full sun. This splendid Mediterranean can however be installed in regions with a harsh climate if it is not in the shade. To do this, simply choose from among the hardiest varieties, capable of withstanding temperatures of around -18°C without flinching… enough to give a touch of Provence to any garden in France. Others, more chilly, are planted in pots and sheltered for the winter. Let’s take stock of the planting of lavender, their maintenance (because yes, they still need some attention to avoid withering) and their flowering.
Plant lavender
Lavender comes in around thirty species and multiple varieties. Fragrant, with grey, bluish, fluffy foliage, more or less bushy, of variable hardiness… In addition, the emblematic lavender blue is not the only color of this pretty Provençal since it can be adorned with ears of corn roses, white or violets. It can be used in rockery, on the edge or in beds and is just as happy in a pot placed on a balcony or a south-facing terrace.
Lavender is the ideal plant for dry gardens. Reserve the area of the garden most exposed to the sun’s rays for it because it needs light and of much heat. It is satisfied with stony or sandy soil like any good garden soil, the main thing being that its substrate is well drained and that care has been taken to unpack it beforehand so that it is light. Indeed, the beauty does not support heavy soils. Some varieties have a small preference for acid soils such as heather earth. To avoid making a mistake, it is therefore necessary to inquire with an advisor at the time of purchase.
The best time to plant lavender is spring after all risk of frost. It is also possible in autumn, but only in the most southern regions. The right method for successful cultivation in the ground is the following :
- Dig a hole large enough for each plant.
- Space the feet a good forty centimeters apart at the very least so that the lavenders do not shade each other. We do not exceed 5 feet per square meter.
- Place a handful or two of amendment per hole.
- Bring a shovelful of sand to the bottom if the soil is clayey because it is heavy soil which is not suitable for lavender.
- Install the plants and fill in, making sure that the upper part of the root ball is perfectly buried.
If we opt for a planting lavender in a pot, it is preferable to choose dwarf or low-growth varieties and a terracotta container twice as large as the root ball. A diameter of about fifty centimeters is ideal. The substrate must be light, composed of pozzolan or coarse river sand and horticultural compost for Mediterranean plants. Add a little heather soil for variety L. stoechas who likes acidic soils.
In the ground or in a pot, the lavender plant should be watered just after planting, but moderately.
entertain sa lavande
Lavender is undemanding in terms of maintenance. The watering are exempted only in the event of severe drought or prolonged drought. The rest of the time, it does not need to be watered. It also does not require any fertilizer.
Consider putting a winter sail on the lavenders in pots in the event of announced frost or place them sheltered from the cold, in a luminous room.
The lavender pruning is carried out once a year, as soon as the flowering is finished. The bare hardwood is sheared off because no new growth can develop on the old wood. You can also aerate the heart of the plant a little by thinning it out, but be careful to keep your hand light because this Mediterranean does not survive severe pruning. Branches should never be cut too short.
flowering of lavender
The worst of heat waves cannot prevent lavender from blooming. Its flowers bloom in profusion under the heat and a great luminosity, from the end of May to mid-September.
The lavender spikes have to be picked at the very beginning of their development, in the heart of summer, because it is at this time of the year that their fragrance is most developed. It is thus possible to make dried bouquets to be placed in all the rooms of the house. For a divinely scented indoor atmosphere, simply take the leaves of lavender because they are aromatic as well as the flowers, to let them dry in small pots or in cheesecloth bags to be placed on or in chests of drawers and cupboards.