Growing guide

How to Grow Lavender

Fragrant, silvery, sun-baked perennial spikes that bees can’t resist.

The basics

What lavender need

• Sun — Full sun (6–8 hours)
• Water — Low — drought-tolerant; let it dry between waterings
• Harvest in Blooms second year from seed
• Difficulty — Easy

When to plant

Time it from your frost date

• Start indoors: 8–10 weeks before last frost (or buy plants)
• Transplant: After last frost
• Direct sow: Difficult — start with transplants or cuttings
• Best in Zones 5–9 (hardy perennial; English types…

How to plant

Three steps to a strong start

• 1. Start with a transplant or cutting — lavender is slow and erratic from seed.
• 2. Plant in full sun in lean, gritty, fast-draining soil; add sand or gravel to heavy ground.
• 3. Water to establish, then only in drought — wet roots are the main killer.

Common problem

Plants rot and die

Almost always wet soil — grow lavender lean and dry with sharp drainage, even in a raised bed or pot.

Common problem

Woody, sparse, leggy plants

Prune lightly each year after flowering (not into old wood), and replace plants every 5–10 years.

Harvest

Picking lavender right

Cut lavender stems for drying just as the lowest flowers on each spike open, in the morning after the dew dries, when the oils are strongest.

Gardeners ask

Why does my lavender keep dying?

Wet feet. Lavender needs full sun and sharp drainage — in heavy or damp soil it rots. Grow it lean and dry, in a raised bed or gritty mix if needed.

Keep growing

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