Common name: Lavender
Family: Lamiaceae, Mint
Height x width: 12-24" x 12-18"
Growth rate: moderate to slow
Foliage: opposite or whorled, usually entire, linear or lanceolate, white tomentose, square stems, arromatic
Flowers: lavender, purple or white, ¼-½" long in groups of 6-10 on spikes in midsummer; aromatic
Hardiness: perennial, zones 5-9
Soil: well-drained
Light: sun
Pests and problems: leaf spot, root rot, four-lined plant bug, caterpillars, root-knot nematode (few pests are serious problems)
Landscape habit, uses: edging, herb garden, pots, indoors.
Culinary--pick flower stems just as flowers open, pick leaves anytime; dry stems on open trays or by hanging in small bundles; add leaves or flowers to stews, to flavor jams, to make lavender vinegar, or to crystallize flowers
Household--dried flowers in sachets are used to scent drawers and repel moths; rub on skin and clothes or pin flowers on clothes to discourage flies; use dried as incense
Cosmetic--lavender water is used for delicate and sensitive skin to speed cell regeneration, for an antiseptic against acne, added to soaps, or in massage oil for muscle aches
Medicinal--a tea infusion is used for headaches and calming, especially in baths; oil is used for headaches (one drop on the temple), painkiller especially for insect bites
Aromatherapy--used in massage oil for calming, depression, throat infections and skin sores
Other interest: native to the Mediterranean; genus name from
Latin lavare meaning to wash, refering to its use in baths by ancient
Greeks and later Romans; used in Middle Ages as a "strewing" herb to mask
household smells and stinking streets, and for insect-repellent properties;
used in Renaissance medicinally for headache; oil of lavender is distilled
from the flowers, mainly in France, with the best oil from angustifolia,
medium quality from intermedia, and cheapest oil from latifolia.
Some references may also list oil from stoechas, but this plant
is very neurotoxic, especially to babies, young
children and pregnant women (highly abortive).
Other culture: cut back in spring most of last year's growth; space 18" except 12" in low hedges; prune hedges and straggly plants in late summer
Propagation: seed (28,000 seeds per ounce) after 5 weeks cold stratification, stem cuttings in summer from non-flowering side shoots, clump division in fall
Species:
angustifolia (an-gus-ti-fol' ee-ah)(vera)--True/English Lavender, 2' tall, lilac flowers and silver leaves
canariensis (ca-nair-ee-en' siss)--Canary Island Lavender, fern-like large leaves with turpentine scent
dentata (den-tah' tah)--Spanish/Fringed Lavender, tender perennial, finely toothed leaves with strong resin odor, fragrant lavender flowerswith light purple bracts near top
heterophylla (het-er-o-phil' ah)--Sweet Lavender, fast growth, good fragrance, thought a hybrid of angustifolia and dentata
x intermedia (in-ter-mee' dee-ah)--Lavandin, angustifolia and latifolia hybrid, violet flowers, hybrid of important French commercial strains
lanata (la-nah' tah)--Wooly Lavender, tender perennial, long spikes of bright purple flowers, dense white woolly leaves scented of balsamic-lavender
latifolia (lat-i-fol' ee-ah)--Spike Lavender, silvery broad leaves, lavender flowers, 2' tall, camphor-like oil used mainly in soaps, high oil content
multifida (mul-ti-fi' dah)--Fernleaf Lavender, lacy deeply cut blue-green leaves, blue-violet flowers, pungent scent
stoechas (sto-ee' kas)--French Lavender, tender perennial, purple flowers with purple bracts above, gray-green downy leaves, camphor-rosemary scent
vera:angustifolia
Cultivars:
| Cultivars, other taxa | species | flowers | other |
| 'Alba' | angustifolia | white | |
| 'Alba' | stoechas | white | |
| 'Blue Cushion' | -- | lavender-blue | 15" tall mounded habit |
| var. candicans | dentata | light purple | fuzzy gray leaves |
| Dutch group | x intermedia | blue | sturdy, uniform, 18" tall |
| 'Folgate' | angustifolia | purple-blue | narrow, gray-green leaves |
| 'Grappenhall' | x intermedia | lavender-blue | long spikes, 2-3' tall |
| 'Grosso' | x intermedia | violet | strong scent, commercial cultivar |
| 'Hidcote' | angustifolia | dark purple | compact, silver leaves, slow |
| 'Hidcote Giant' | x intemedia | dark purple | to 4' tall |
| 'Hidcote Pink' | angustifolia | light pink | whitish buds |
| 'Jean Davis' | angustifolia | pale pink | compact, 10-12" tall |
| 'Lavender Lady' | angustifolia | lavender | 8-10" tall, early, AAS award |
| 'Loddon Pink' | angustifolia | pale pink | |
| 'Munstead' | angustifolia | lavender | early, 12" tall, greenish leaves |
| 'Nana Alba' | angustifolia | white, 1½-2" | compact, silver-gray leaves |
| subsp. pedunculata | stoechas | magenta-pink | purple bracts, gray-green leaves |
| 'Provence' | x intermedia | lavender | important commercially in Provence |
| 'Rosea' | angustifolia | light pink | 12" tall |
| 'Royal Purple' | angustifolia | lavender | long spikes |
| 'Sawyer's' | -- | purple | hardy, silver leaves, large spikes |
| 'Seal' | x intermedia | pale lavender | long spikes, 4' tall |
| 'Sidonie' | -- | rich blue, 2-3' | ferny leaves, Australian |
| 'Swan River Pink' | stoechas | pink | from W. Australia |
| 'Twickle Purple' | -- | purple, 2-3" | broad, gray-green leaves, compact |
| 'Woodbridge Snow' | -- | white | compact, from New Zealand |
| 'Woodbridge White' | -- | lavender, white | bicolor, compact |
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