HOUSE PLANT WEEK - Lavender
- louise coome
- Jan 13, 2021
- 5 min read
We are pretty much mid way through House plant week, todays plant is lavender. Lavender is mainly grown outside but, these beautiful bushy herbs are also great to keep by the bed side due to their gentle and pleasant scent. Lavender belongs to the mint family and is known to help relieve stress and helps soothe restlessness, nervousness, anxiety, depression, and insomnia, which, is why it is so widely used in cosmetics such as bath salts, skincare, soaps, and candles (I am currently experimenting with a bedtime bar, testing out a special blend of chamomile and lavender essential oils so, watch this space!).
There are many different varieties of lavender and each one requires something a little different, I've picked 5 to check out today.
1. Lavandula angustifolia – English lavender
The English lavender also known as true lavender or common lavender, its often associated with the famous purple fields of province and is native to the Mediterranean, not England.
Note: you can find more about the purple fields of province here.
The English lavender flower can vary from blue to purple and, most shades in between or, white and pink depending on the cultivar and they will be at their peak during the summer and grow about 2-3 feet. English Lavenders soft scent is activated when it is brushed up against or crushed. It is considered the ‘’queen of herbs’’ for herb gardens due to its versatile usage and placement. These beautiful bunches are ideal for formal and informal paths, raised walls, borders, rock gardens and can be planted in masses (see link above). They preform best planted in poor, sandy soil that has good drainage.
2. Lavandula dentata – French lavender
These are not as fragrant as other lavender, but they are very colourful! They also go by the name of Fringed Lavender and is considered an evergreen shrub meaning, if it gets enough light and warmth it will bloom all year round. The French Lavender is native to eastern and southern Spain, not France…
The French lavender forms a 12-36inch upright stem with medium length spikes and compact flower heads with light purple bracts on top (this is a petal looking leaf that’s main function is to attract insects to be pollinated), the flowers are an array of blues and purples. The French Lavender produces a camphor-lavender or rosemary-like scent.
3. Lavandula x Intermedia – Lavandin
The lavandin is a hybrid of the English Lavender and the Portuguese Lavender (Lavandula Latifolia) therefore, this variety is great for mass planting, hedges, herb gardens, borders, or rock gardens. It blooms from mid to late summer and will produce strong scented flowers from dark violet to white which will stand about 30inches tall if allowed.
4. Lavandula latifolia – Portuguese Lavender
Also known as the spike lavender due to its cone shaped flowering which, tends to be a pale lilac with a stronger and more pungent scent that the English Lavender. The Portuguese lavender tends to be a very sturdy plant and blooms from later spring to late.
5. Lavandula Stoechas – Spanish Lavender (Ballerina)
This is one of the prettiest lavenders also known as,’ Butterfly lavender’ or ‘ballerina’ from its distinctive like shape and, up right flower petals poking out of the top. The Spanish lavender is native to the Mediterranean and northern Africa and is harvested for essential oils or potpourris. They are not fragrant; however, its silvery foliage is very aromatic. This pretty little shrub will grow around 18-24 inches and can tolerate higher levels of humidity (making them good for indoors).
Below is a slideshow of a few different types of lavender I found on google.
Potting & care
You will need a quick draining soil, and they usually look pretty in a terra cotta pot (with a draining hole, ALWAYS important to help reduce the risk of root rot). Lavender will not survive long in dank areas, so keep that in mind when placing or planting your lavender indoors or outdoors. You can go a little bit further and add some alkaline and calcium to your soil by crushing up some eggshells and adding a small squeeze of lime once a month, or, dilute half the recommended strength fertilizer to the soil every 4weeks during the spring and summer months.
NOTE: when planting seeds of any kind, plant them inside an eggshell then into the soil. The roots will absorb all the goodies from the eggshell giving the seed a better chance, and it’s better than them heading to food waste.
Placement
Lavender needs a lot of sunlight, roughly 4-6hours a day, south-facing windows are usually the best and every couple of day rotating the plant can be beneficial. If there is not enough light the lavender may produce weak, brittle stems that won’t produce flowers and be more susceptible to disease.
It needs good ventilation and air circulation and NOT be in direct flow of heat, despite their love for the warmth, this includes windowsills above active radiators. The lavender plant would benefit going in the garden during the summer months for the warmth and the air circulation.
Watering
The lavender plant needs more water than the other plants I have spoken about, however, if it is overwatered root rot can still happen as with most other plants so draining hole and fast draining soil is key.
When it is time to water the lavender, drench it. But, do water it around the soil opposed to over the plant. Allow the plant to sit in the excess for a little while before draining it, allow the soil to dry out on top before watering again.
Pruning & Harvesting
Always cut the stems off from the bottom, continuous cutting from the top can cause the flower to stop growing, however, occasional pruning will allow your lavender to become a nice bushy shrub so, it is still important.
To harvest, take your snipped stem from the bottom and take the flowers off as you need them. Harvest once the flowers have bloomed, this is when they are full of colour.
Storage
You could store the stems in a vase of water and use the flowers and what you need them or you can dry them out and store them for later.
Note: you can find out more about drying your lavender here.
Here are some ideas that you can use the diverse herb for
- Oils
I will disclaim I NOT get any commission via these links; they are just Pinterest ideas I found, and I like and thought you might too 😊 These little projects are great to do with the kids or as something different on the evening. Try something new!
I would love to see any Lavender projects you have done, tag me on Facebook and Instagram @loopyloushomemade
Signing off with a smile :D
Comments