Plant Profile - Lavender

There is something absolutely magical about the gentle scent of lavender. The way your body seemingly relaxes instantly upon a deep inhale of the soothing aroma. I struggled for several years, desperately trying to figure out how to keep lavender plants alive and to get them to flower for me. I was starting to get the hang of their care when I took over managing a lavender farm tucked in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Now, I have lavender thriving all over my farm and I’m going to spill the beans on the fool proof methods I’ve found for growing ALL of the lavender, plus some of my favorite uses for this amazing herb.

To best understand the growing needs of lavender, it’s good to know where it originates from. Lavender is native to the Mediterranean which means that it prefers a temperate, dry climate. Due to its wide-spread popularity, new varieties have been developed that allow it to grow and thrive in different growing zones and regions. A quick Google search can give you a list of lavender varieties that will do best in your growing zone. 

Regardless of the variety, the basics still remain the same though: plant in full sun, don’t fertilize, don’t irrigate (for the most part), and plant it in well draining yet fairly poor soil. Also make sure to prune the plant into a nice round shape either in the Fall or early Spring to help encourage new growth. I like to take about two inches off the end of each stem during this process. 

In the Winter, ensure there are no leaves or mulch mounded up in the center of the plant around the woody parts. This can trap moisture and cause it to rot. A nice mulch layer around the plant not touching the base is sufficient cold protection so long as you have the right variety for your zone. 

Also note, it is absolutely possible to start lavender from seed, it just takes a lot of work and a bit of time before it actually starts producing. Instead, starting off with plugs is definitely a lot easier, and ensures a higher level of success. This also guarantees you will get the exact variety of lavender you want since it does not grow true to type from seed. 

Harvest

You worked so hard to not over-care for your plants and you’re now being rewarded with gorgeous stems of lavender. Wait until a few of the buds start to flower on a stem in order to get the most aroma. The best way to harvest the lavender stems is to follow the stem down to the first set of leaves and cut right above that. By doing this, you’re actually setting yourself up for a bumper crop of stems as 1-2 more shorter stems will grow from that leaf node. 

Harvesting this way will give you more lavender, but maybe not always the long stems you were hoping for. I find ‘Provence,’ ‘Deep Purple,’ and ‘Grosso’ still give really long stems with this method along with a decent bumper crop if the classic lavender wands are what you are looking for. 

Post harvest

If you have nice wands of lavender, you can bundle them and hang them to dry before using for decorating, gift giving, or storing for later culinary use. The shorter stems can be used fresh for making simple syrup or for tea. You can easily dry them for longer storage and more varied uses. Sprinkle them in your chickens’ feed and nesting boxes, infuse in honey, use for teas and baking, put in little sachet bags to hang in your closet and dresser drawers, infuse in oil for skin care products or salad dressings, use the longer stems as kebab skewers, or make your own Herbs de Provence blend. Honestly, your only limitation is your imagination when it comes to working with dried lavender. 

Lavender benefits

If the incredible versatility of lavender hasn’t convinced you yet that you should grow it, let’s cover some of its benefits.

In the garden

Lavender is beloved by many pollinators, especially bees and butterflies. One of my core memories is harvesting lavender in the middle of the five acre lavender field I managed. All I could hear was the humming of thousands of bees busily working alongside me as the sun reflected off the iridescent wings of countless butterflies flitting about in the scented breeze. Pure magic. 

As with any strongly scented herb, lavender helps repel garden pests like flies, mosquitos, and moths. With that said, to really work as a pest deterrent, you need a LOT of lavender plants. So don’t plant one or two and think you’ll never have mosquito problems again since unfortunately it just doesn’t work like that. 

Medicinal

The most potent and medicinal varieties of lavender are the species lavandula angustifolia, aka English Lavender. Other lavender species still have benefits too, but if you’re wanting to make medicinal tinctures and the like, focus on growing primarily English varieties. 

Not just the flowers are medicinal, but the stems and leaves too. When I make herbal infusions and teas I include the stems right along with the flowers. And when I prune the plants, I save the pruned plant tips to dry and store for teas, sachets, and putting into my neighbor’s chickens’ nesting boxes. 

Lavender boasts soothing anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. Mystery rash on your leg? Lavender essential oil diluted with a nice carrier oil like coconut or jojoba. Dry, cracking hands in the winter? Lavender oil. Upset GI tract? Lavender tea. The soothing scent is also now being utilized in medical settings to soothe anxiety during medical treatments and hospitalizations. Pretty cool, right? 

Summary

Beloved by bees, lavender helps soothe the nervous system when smelled and ingested, and topically helps ease rashes, cuts, and chapped skin. To ensure success when growing lavender, select varieties that will thrive in your growing zone, plant them in full sun, don’t water them too much, don’t fertilize them, make sure they have well draining soil, and prune them in the Fall for healthier growth and increased bloom production. Basically, neglect your plants and you will end up with more lavender than you know what to do with.