The easy-care lavender not only impresses with its appearance and scent, but is also a real bee magnet.
If you want to enjoy the scent and sight of the common lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), simply plant the Mediterranean shrub in your own garden. Caring for lavender isn't difficult, and the flowers look great even when dried. In nature, lavender often grows on rocky slopes and poor soil. Here we show you how to find the right place for the lavender in the garden.
When should you plant lavender?
Lavender is best planted outside in spring. The ideal planting time for lavender is from mid-May, when no more frosts are to be expected. You can also plant the lavender from the end of March. Larger specimens can cope better with the weather - but in this case frost protection made of mulch material is recommended. If the water supply is secured, you can even plant the lavender in summer. However, planting lavender in autumn is not recommended - because then it hardly has time to grow properly before winter.
At a glance: when to plant lavender?
- Ideal: spring from mid-May
- Possible: In summer when water supply is guaranteed
- Depending on the planting time, frost protection is necessary
The right place for lavender
Regardless of whether you want to plant the lavender in a pot, in a bed or even as a lavender tree - the right location is crucial for a he althy and flowering plant. For the ideal lavender spot, look at the natural habitat of the pretty subshrub: it should be sunny, warm and rather dry. In addition, nutrient-poor and calcareous soils appeal to lavender.
Lavender in the garden
In the right location, lavender is a rather undemanding plant for the garden, which is also very popular with bees. You can use it as a tea herb or as a home remedyUse clothes moths. Lavender oil also helps against fungus gnats. In addition to planting in the herb bed, the real lavender finds a place in the garden as a low scented hedge and bed edging. A planting distance of 20 - 40 cm should be maintained in the bed. Lavender can make a magnificent picture on its own - but it is usually nicer to put three or five plants together.
Lavender as a bed border: There are numerous varieties of lavender. A lavender that stays rather small and grows compactly should therefore be chosen for the border of the bed. This includes, for example, the variety 'Blue Cushion'. The plants are placed in the prepared soil about 25 cm apart at the edge of the bed. There should not be more than three plants per meter to avoid competition. The small lavender hedge should be cut back regularly - because the lavender may not survive being cut back into the old, leafless wood.
The right soil for lavender
The lavender needs a permeable soil. It prefers a soil that is nutrient-poor and calcareous. Lavender is not hardy on wet or even waterlogged surfaces. In very clayey soils, the lavender can only be kept in the long term if the substrate in the planting area is generously exchanged for a permeable one. If the soil is a bit too heavy for the lavender, to avoid waterlogging, it is advisable to mix in a lot of sand from the planting hole and to create a drainage layer of pebbles. This creates the best possible starting conditions for planting. If there is no suitable soil, you can alternatively plant the lavender with a suitable substrate in a pot, raised bed or in a herb spiral.
Sow Lavender
Even if it is a bit more complicated, it can still make sense to sow the lavender. The roots develop in a natural way and the plant does not suffer a plant shock, since the young plants can adapt to the location - right from the start. As a result of the adaptation, sown specimens have a better chance of staying he althy for a long time than bought ones, even with advancing age. It is best to start a preculture on the windowsill, but direct sowing outdoors is also possible. The right conditions include sufficient warmth and light as well as the right soil. Lavender generally prefers a nutrient-poor substrate -such a substrate is particularly important for pre-cultivation. A suitable soil for cultivation and further cultivation is, for example, our Plantura organic herb and seed soil, which is intentionally provided with fewer nutrients and is particularly permeable. In addition, about a third of sand should be mixed in for better drainage. This creates ideal conditions for the lavender and its seeds. Lavender seeds are sown as follows:
- Stratify before sowing: refrigerate seed in a container with moistened sand for 2 - 4 weeks. This treatment significantly increases the germination rate
- Prepare on the windowsill from the beginning of March
- After that, use indoor greenhouse if possible
- Optimum germination temperature at 20 °C
- Prepare pots with growing substrate such as Plantura Organic Herb & Seed Soil
- Distribute the seed and press down gently
- Keep soil moderately moist
- Germination period 3 - 4 weeks
- Sowing outdoors between the end of April and the end of May is possible
- Keep a distance of 30 cm in the bed
What do lavender seedlings look like? After the appearance of the two small, rounded to spade-shaped cotyledons, the lavender seedlings develop the typical, elongated leaves that are somewhat reminiscent of conifer leaves and also very similar to rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis).
Planting Instructions
Once you have selected the right lavender variety and a suitable location or have germinated the seeds, it is time to plant the lavender. It should be mentioned again here that planting directly in the ground is only worthwhile if the soil and location are also suitable. If the subsoil is too clayey, the substrate must be replaced generously and, in extreme cases, up to 60% drainage material is mixed in. In this case, planting the lavender in a pot, in a heaped mound, in a raised bed or in a herb spiral is more promising. If the location and soil are right, then planting can begin. To do this, you should dig a sufficiently large planting hole from mid-May. This should be at least twice the size of the root ball of the purchased plant. If you have placed them in the middle of the planting hole, you can fill it up with soil. Since lavender originally comes from the rocky regions of the Mediterranean, its need for nutrients and water is rather low. The potting soil used should therefore be permeableand be calcareous. Cultivation in a herb spiral is also suitable for small gardens. Drought-loving plants - such as lavender - are best planted on the south or west side in the upper third of the spiral.
At what distance do you plant lavender?
You should not place the young plants too close together so that the bushy lavender has enough space later on. A planting distance of about 30 - 40 cm is appropriate for lavender.
Transplant lavender
In principle, it is better to avoid transplanting lavender, because it always means stress for the plant. Before the lavender dies in the wrong place, it is still advisable to move it to another place. Transplanting should also take place in spring, between the end of March and May, so that the lavender can take root in its new location before winter. Dig up the root ball generously to minimize damage to the root system.
Good Companion Plants for Lavender
To create a beautiful overall picture in the garden, combine lavender with other plants. The right choice must be made here so that the different species grow well next to each other. Due to the similar site requirements, it makes sense to plant the lavender with rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), with other Mediterranean herbs such as thyme (Thymus) or Sage (Salvia) are appropriate. You can plant mint and lavender together using a herb spiral. Here, however, the two herbs belong in different places. But which flowers go well with lavender? Suitable flowering companion plants for lavender are, for example, sea kale (Crambe maritima), lady's mantle (Alchemilla), or Carthusian carnation (Dianthus carthusianorum ).
Tip: The frequently mentioned roses (Rosa), on the other hand, are less suitable as planting partners, since these are humus-rich, also clayey and nutrient-rich soils prefer.
At a glance: Which plants go well with lavender?
- Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano or sage
- Sea Kale
- Woman's Mantle
- Carnation
- Alyssum
If you have lavender in your own garden, you need to get it through the cold season. We give tips howyou can overwinter the lavender so that it will bloom again next year.