The Lavenders - Removing the Mystery

The flowers and leaves of the Lavender have been used as herbs for at least 3000 years, and probably much longer. It probably originated in Asia Minor and followed the spread of the great Middle Eastern and European civilizations. The Greeks and Romans certainly grew and used it, and gave it its common name, which has persisted through the millennia. The Romans took it with them into Spain, across France, and into England and Central Europe.

Throughout most of its history, until well into the 19th Century, lavender was used both as a culinary herb and as an important medicinal plant. Today, its principal uses are in cosmetics and perfume, potpourris, wreaths and similar products, although there are many culinary recipes that call for lavender.  Perhaps it is most widely used in America as a decorative plant, for that it is.  I regard lavender as one of the "must haves" in any herb garden for which I am responsible.

The "English" lavenders

There are many different species, varieties and cultivars of Lavender; I have grown more than thirty in and around Lincoln, Nebraska, and in Northern Wisconsin.  Certainly the species most widely grown in America is Lavandula angustifolia (or L. spica and L. vera if you consult some British herb books). It is often called English Lavender, but those words are usually not enough to tell you what you are getting. Among the English Lavenders available today are such cultivars as Hidcote Blue, Munstead, Rosea, Jean Davis, Lady, Twickle Purple, Nana Compacta, Croxton’s Wild and Grappenhall. I regard 'Lady' and Nana as true dwarfs - 8-10 inches high and about as wide.  Hidcote and Munstead are listed as dwarfs in some catalogues, but I have grown, and seen others grow, specimens that would not qualify as "dwarf" as most of us understand the word. Rosea, Jean Davis and Twickle Purple have regularly reached 2 - 2.5 ft in my gardens, while standard English Lavender regularly exceeds 3 feet.

Two popular herb books on bookstore shelves today refer to the English lavenders as "hardy, evergreen perennials." They may be in Coastal New England, California or England, but they certainly aren't evergreen over much of America! I have pretty good success getting them to survive our winters, but not once have they remained "evergreen," and they get trimmed back every April.  In many of the herb picture books are gorgeous photos of lavender hedges and borders, three to four feet high, but those are only possible where the plants are truly evergreen, and don't have to start over every spring.

                              

The Non-English Lavenders

After the English lavenders, common names for lavenders really get confusing. Lavandula stoechas, which I call Spanish Lavender is also called French Lavender and Dwarf Lavender. L. dentata, which I list as French Lavender, is also called Spanish Lavender, Fringed Lavender and Dentate Lavender. L. dentata candicans, which I list as Grey French Lavender, has the same array of names as its cousin.  L. latifolia is generally known as Spike Lavender, although I have seen it called Camphor Lavender in Europe, presumably because of its strong odor. I have never seen L. lanata called anything but Woolly Lavender, but that doesn't mean some clever marketer won't come up with a new name next spring. Similarly, I have never seen L. multifida listed as anything but French Lace Lavender, but then again, I have never seen it at all outside of a very few specialists.

At least a few true hybrid lavenders are worth mentioning. L. hortensis (or L. x intermedia) is a hybrid of L. angustifolia and L. latifolia.  The most common name in America is Provence Lavender, but in Europe, it is also known as Lavandin and Dutch Lavender. I have seen it here listed as Spike Lavender as well, and I assume that is because one of its parents is L. latifolia, but it is not the same plant that I have called Spike Lavender in the preceding paragraph. The other hybrid widely grown from cuttings is L. heterophylla, most likely a cross of L. angustifolia and L. dentata. It is usually listed only by the Latin name, but lately I've seen the name Sweet Lavender used, and may adopt that name as well. However, there are some herb growers who refer to the whole L. angustifolia group as Sweet Lavender, as did many 18th & 19th Century British romantic poets. Other hybrids reasonably widely available in America, and well worth growing are Grosso, Fat Spike, Goodwin’s Creek, and Alba.

Hardy/Tender

Your head must be swimming with Latin and English names by now, so I'll switch subjects.  None of the non-English Lavenders are supposed to be perennials, but I have had most of them over winter in my garden on occasion.  The one notable exception is L. lanata, which has great difficulty thriving under my care in any circumstances, summer or winter.  I believe that a reasonably experienced gardener, who has raised healthy plants, will be able to over winter some lavenders, at least some years, by cutting them back by 1/3 in the fall and providing plenty of mulch.  The best candidates for overwintering in most of temperate America are Munstead, Hidcote, Nana and Croxton’s Wild.

That said, I must tell you that I believe - contrary to the prevalent opinion among American growers - that it is not so much the temperature, per se, that raises havoc with lavenders, but rather a period of thawing and freezing at either end of the winter season. I have planted exactly the same cultivars in Zone 5 Nebraska (which often has Zone 6 winters) and at our summer place on an island in Lake Superior (which is borderline Zone 3/4), and invariably I have a better survival rate “Up North.” On the island, the snow comes early and often and usually doesn’t completely melt until well into April. Thus providing crucial insulation to keep the ground from “heaving” with repeated thaws and freezes. Many times I have found clear signs of life in lavenders in my Nebraska gardens in January only to find them deader than a doornail in late March. And when I dug them I discovered that the roots were pretty much torn up from the Spring heaving. Lesson? Mulch well any lavender that will be exposed to below-freezing weather!

Soil

Some lavenders are more picky than others with regard to soil conditions, but none of them like wet feet.  All except possibly the Provence Lavenders are susceptible to root and stem rot. They do best in well-drained, well limed soil (to raise the ph.)  All of them need as much sun as you can give them, and will tolerate limited periods of drought much better than they tolerate unlimited periods of rain. None of them do well in even partial shade.  Some of the most gorgeous lavenders I have seen - on both sides of the Atlantic - were growing in what most American gardeners would regard as terrible soil. Rocky, sandy, desert-like stuff!  And they do not do well in even the richest “black dirt” soil unless lots of humus and sand have been added. If they are to be grown in a container, use only top quality potting soil, to which lime and perlite or vermiculite has been added, and be sure that the drainage hole is unobstructed. I cannot overstress the importance providing good drainage. Virtually every lavender I have autopsied has succumbed to root rot!

Flowers

Ah yes, the flowers! Every commercial plant publication will provide you with glowing descriptions of the lavender flower, and if they have a good selection of lavenders, they will run out of adjectives to describe the color.  It's just as well, as the color of the blooms differs as much within cultivars as between them in most cases.  I can state safely that Lavandula flowers range from soft white through every shade of pink, violet, and lavender to the deepest purple.  Jean Davis and Rosea are predictably white to pink to rose, varying somewhat with location and season. That is about as much as I can say with certainty about flower color.  The Provence lavender cultivar ‘Alba’ is almost always a creamy white, but I have one plant in a rocky spot that produces pale, pale pink blossoms.

Every description of L. dentata I can find states that the flowers are purple, but I have never grown one that had anything but white or the palest blue, pink or violet flowers.  One would think that 'Hidcote Blue' would yield blue flowers, right? In the summer of '99, I planted two 'Hidcote' plants from each of three suppliers, side-by-side in the same bed. In July, I had four distinctly different hues among the six plants, ranging from a pretty fair deep blue to a deep, deep purple.  Munsteads are usually bluer than the Hidcotes, but there is still a fairly wide range of color. L. angustifolia usually produces flowers that match my definition of the color lavender.  I suspect (but have not done the necessary research to prove) that the color of lavender flowers is strongly influenced by acidity or some other soil condition. 

The truest blue lavenders I have seen are grown only (to my knowledge) on one lavender farm in the highlands of Provence. I have grown plants from cuttings taken from that farm in Nebraska, and the blue is not nearly as clear here.  So . . . I have to settle for lavender wands and buds, which I get from Provence every September.

Propagation

You will find lavender seeds for sale in garden centers, hardware stores shopping malls and all manner of seed catalogues, but unless you are a pro with a sense of adventure, or someone who doesn't much care what kind he/she grows, don't try to grow them from seed. Why do I write that?

1. You never know what you're going to get out of a seed packet unless you buy seed from a legitimate herb specialist. Even the most reputable generalist seed companies in the U.S. apparently don't have a clue when it comes to herbs. If you want seeds true to type, order them from a specialist firm like Renee’s Garden, or Richter's.

2.  Relatively few types of lavender seeds are available. Some cultivars don't produce seeds at all.

3.  Lavender is difficult to germinate and slow to grow from seed. 

4.  It is easy to propagate lavender from stem or heel cuttings.                              

5.  There is usually a pretty good selection of lavender plants available from catalogs and Internet sites.

To see lavender plants, click here.

Using Lavender

Most varieties of lavender can be dried and used for culinary, medicinal and decorative purposes year round.  However, the English and Provence varieties are the only ones suitable for culinary use.  The other varieties - L. stoechas, L. dentate, L. multifida, etc. – produce flowers with a strong, almost camphor or eucalyptus scent and taste.

The dried flowers and buds of L. angustifolia and L. intermidia hybrids are useful in the kitchen. We use them in delicate desserts like pound cakes and cookies, as well as in our classic herbs de provence blend and our grilling herbs for meat.  In due course, I will post a blog containing several lavender recipes.

By far the most important uses of lavender in the 21^st Century involve its use to impart fragrance to toiletries and beauty aids, and its use as a decorative item.  Despite the fact that we are primarily growers, our best selling items for years have been Lavender Wreaths and bouquets.

                    

To see lavender wreaths and bouquets, click here.

Good luck with your lavender garden!

Papa Geno