How do we use your location?
Knowing your location helps us recommend plants that will thrive in your climate, based on your Growing Zone.
Knowing your location helps us recommend plants that will thrive in your climate, based on your Growing Zone.
Lavender for your garden? Here's how to grow it: Everybody loves lavender, and who hasn't ooohed and ahhhed over photos of the incredible purple fields in the UK and the South of France? Well, the photo on our Lavender listing page was taken in Oregon, and there's no reason you can’t grow lavender in your own backyard. But there are a few things you need to know.
First of all, if you live in a very humid place, it simply won’t work. It’s almost impossible to grow lavender in South Florida, for example, but most of the US, north to Zone 5, is fine. Of course, the farther north you are, the more plant you'll lose each year to winter kill. A good thick hedge will probably never happen in Zone 5, but don't worry.
Where and how you plant is all important. Keep in mind that the lavenders are native to the Mediterranean, and if you've ever been to the South of France, you know that means hot, rocky, and arid--almost desert-like in many places. This tells you lavenders demand sharp-draining soils, never rich, damp and soggy. Fact is, if you fail with lavender, it will probably be due to over-watering. Lavenders don't mind drought a bit, and love hot, blazing sun. Remember, little water and no shade!
As for varieties, most of our choices are cultivars of the English Lavenders, which are cultivars of Lavendula angustifolia. These include both the famous Hidcote dwarf and Munstead, the most popular variety for the US. Jean Davis is a pink variety, and Lavance Purple is famous for its particularly vivid blue-purple bloom. Beyond the English types, there are lavenders commonly called French, Spanish, and other names.
As soon as your order is placed you will receive a confirmation email. You will receive a second email the day your order ships telling you how it has been sent. Depending upon your order date, we may hold your shipment to combine it with other products on your order, if applicable. See our shipping information page for approximate ship dates and more detailed information. If you have any questions, please call Customer Service toll-free at (802) 227-7200 or contact us by email or chat.