“It is an aroma simultaneously fresh, floral, sweet, pungent, haylike, woody, piney and reminiscent of citrus, with perhaps an elusive hint of mint.” So writes author Robert Kourik, in his excellent monograph, The Lavender Garden: Beautiful Varieties to Grow and Gather (Chronicle Books, 1998).
He continues, “…lavender has been planted, tended, used and cherished almost from the beginning of recorded civilization.” It’s used in culinary applications, in perfumes and scented oils, for bathing and laundering clothes, for repelling insects and freshening the air—all uses still employed today—representing a great unbroken chain of horticultural inheritance at least 2,500 years old.
Here at The BirdHouse, the swell of energy around our Community Apothecary has been gaining steady momentum, even during these doldrums of an extended pandemic. From the ongoing success of the virtual Tea Circles, to Herbalist Roxanne’s recent sold out Plant Speak course, to Bella LeNestour’s acquisition and collaborative experimentation with a copper alembic—producing hydrosols of blue spruce & rosemary, and most recently, vetiver grass—there’s a sweetly-scented buzz in the canyon.
In the spring of 2017, when I first started working at The BirdHouse, freshly out of a Permaculture Design Course and yet woefully ignorant about good horticulture, John and Bella sourced four beautiful lavender plants from Pearson’s Garden, near San Diego. I’d heard that lavender tolerated poor soils and lots of sun. Great! I thought, We’ve got plenty of both. I planted them in a terraced bed on the hillside near the southwestern side of the garden. The plants survived the summer but struggled to grow, flowering sparsely and not adding much foliage. I kept an eye on them through the year and noticed they still were struggling.
By the spring of 2018, two of the plants died. There are a thousand little deaths and failures one is party to when one sets out to garden—especially when embarking on an ambitiously diverse planting of trees, herbs, vegetables, vines, shrubs, and an assortment of somewhat tricky native plants. The first deaths and failures were not easy for me to stomach; shame washed over me as I removed the dead lavender plants.
Resolved to rescue the remaining two lavenders, which were limping along, I concluded that the initial planting site, in fact, received too little sun. I decided to move them to a newly constructed bed at the northern end of the property which faced due south. Plenty of sun, I thought, and soil that is still uncultivated and nutrient poor. Should be good conditions for the lavender, not unlike the conditions where lavender is grown commercially, in Provence. I moved them to the front bed during the spring of 2018, then watched them progressively worsen and eventually die within the year. Those deaths were even more challenging to my confidence. Wasn’t I learning anything? Why was this garden entrusted to me anyway? In fact, there were dozens of other plants growing splendidly around me, but I was fixated on the failures with the lavender.
I always held out that I’d have another go at growing lavender. When Mud Baron’s horticultural training project at John Muir High School in Pasadena was being dismantled, Chef Minh Phan of Porridge & Puffs / Phenakite Restaurant fame gave me a call. Thanks to her, I was able to rescue a few plants (alongside Angela Gygi of the Hollywood Orchard) before the program closed. Two unmarked lavenders made their way back to The BirdHouse in 1 gallon pots. They had fuzzy leaves, the margins of which had a “toothed” texture and whose aroma carried a strange Pine-Sol note that was not at all like the lavenders from Pearson’s.
I planted the new lavenders at a lower (and sunnier!) bed back on the southwest side of the garden. Over the last two years, I’ve carefully watched them grow into healthy plants which bloom regularly, visited by bees and people alike.
With some lavender cultivating confidence under my belt, and an apothecary group eager to get more herbs producing, it’s time for a fresh look at lavender! What follows is information about different types of lavender which I gleaned from Kourik’s book, and explains why I chose the variety I did for our given purpose, and the common uses of other lavender types.
Lavenders—herbaceous or woody shrubs in the genus Lavandula—are commonly thought of as a monolithic entity. In fact, there are 47 species in the genus, which are cultivated all around the globe. I will deal with four species of lavender which are common in horticultural and landscaping trades, and useful in the kitchen and home. When identifying species by their Latin scientific name, I will use the full name of the genus Lavandula, or simply the abbreviation L. to note the genus.
English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
So-called “English Lavender” originates, in fact, from the French Alps. Still, it has been cultivated intensively in England since at least the 13th century, and is the most popularly cultivated species of lavender in North America.
Its leaves have smooth margins (no serrations or undulations) and flowers may appear in a variety of colors, from purple to white to pink. In fact, the color lavender is thought to be derived from the shade of pastel purple found on the corollas (blossoms) of certain cultivars of this species.
English Lavender is often considered the sweetest-smelling lavender and one of the best for culinary use. This species typically blooms only once per year, between May and June.
Because of its sweet scent and relatively high oil content, this species was used extensively for lavender oil production in England for centuries.
Eventually, hybrids with higher oil content came to overtake the market for commercial production (see Lavandin below).
This species also produces viable seed, which can be harvested from spent flowers and planted. They typically reach 2 to 3 feet in height and similarly wide, and must be sheared back after summer blooming in order to keep from getting lanky. This is also the most cold-hardy species, able to withstand temperatures up to -20F.
Favored cultivars: ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munstead’ for purple blossoms; ‘Alba’ for white blossoms; and ‘Hidcote Pink’ and ‘English Pink’ for (you guessed it!) pink blossoms.
Note: Sometimes sold as “True Lavender”’ and represented with the Latin name, Lavandula vera.
Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas)
Spanish lavenders have a distinctive pineapple-shaped flower, notable for the dramatic bracts at the top of the flower, which appear like rabbit’s ears or twirling kites. These bracts, visible in the picture above, are actually a type of leaf structure and are not themselves the reproductive blossom.
Spanish lavender isn’t typically used for making lavender oil despite having higher oil content than English Lavender. Kourik notes that the foliage is quite good in culinary applications of savory foods, especially grilled meats and breads, though not so good for sweets. Part of the appeal of the scent and taste in L. stoechas is the presence of fenchone, a chemical compound which produces notes of lime, pine, and camphor.
This species makes for beautiful, compact landscape plants, between 12 – 14 inches tall and a little wider than they are tall. They bloom prolifically in mild-wintered climates, often blooming in mid-spring, again in early summer, and again in fall. It is inappropriate for cold climates, as it will suffer or even die when exposed to temperatures below 15F.
Favored cultivar: ‘Atlas’ bears dramatic bracts, the tell-tale sign of Spanish Lavender.
Note: Sometimes, to the confusion of many, they are sold as “French Lavender”. Their exact origin (like most lavenders) is a mystery, and they may have originated in the Hyeres Islands off the French Coast. To ID, look for small, smooth oblong leaves and, if blooming, look for the pineapple-shaped flowers. If attempting to purchase, use the Latin name above at a nursery to clear up any confusion.
French Lavender (Lavandula dentata)
French Lavenders are excellent in the landscape for their large size and frequent blooms. Single plants can grow as tall as 4 feet and as wide as 6 feet. Branches which touch the ground can root in place, extending the reach of the plant by “walking” across a garden bed. These shrubs grow vigorously and can bloom year-round in mild winter areas. Based on my walks through Beachwood Canyon, this appears to be the most popular species planted in the area around the BirdHouse, while Spanish Lavender is second-most popular.
The species is named for the finely toothed edges on their foliage, which also tend to have fuzzy, fine white hairs. These fine hairs are often described botanically as tomentose.
This species possesses a strong “menthol-eucalyptus” note in the scent of both foliage and flower, which can lend a pleasant “clean” note for use in the home—though it is not as sweet as English lavender. This same quality makes it a challenging flavor for culinary use and should be applied in small doses. They make wonderful cut flowers, and their foliage can be used as an interesting green material for other floral arrangements.
Cultivar: ‘Candicans’ grows vigorously with distinct grey-green foliage and will quickly fill a garden bed. Shear back new growth at the end of summer to keep it from becoming too rangy.
Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia)
The most commonly used Lavender for oil production (in France, and globally) is called Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia). Originally found in 1828, Lavandin is a hybrid cross between English Lavender and another species, Spike Lavender (L. latifolia). Whereas English Lavender, which also makes fine oil, requires between 8 – 16 lbs of flowers per ounce of oil, Lavandins like require only about 4 lbs per one ounce of oil.
Like many interspecific hybrids (crosses between two species in the same genus), these plants do not produce viable seed. Instead, they are propagated by vegetative cuttings, ensuring genetic continuity from the original plant. In this technique, a small segment of non-woody green stem is trimmed from one plant, then placed in a lightweight soil mixture and kept consistently moist while it forms new roots. Once rooted, it will be a clone of the plant from which the cutting was taken.
Two commonly available cultivars of Lavandin are ‘Grosso’ and ‘Provence’.
‘Grosso’ – A prolific blooming Lavandin, with long flower spikes, dark purple in color, which can have two blooms in one season if sheared back after the first bloom. Possesses a somewhat harsh turpentine note in its scent, though not as much as L. dentata.
Despite its slightly harsh scent, ‘Grosso’ accounts for three-quarters of total the harvest for French lavender oil production, according to Kourik.
THE WINNER: ‘Provence’ cultivar – Kourik writes, ‘Flower aroma is powerful and sweet, sometimes described as heady, grassy, herbaceous, and mildly woody…[this cultivar] lacks much of the camphor/eucalyptus-like overtones that make other lavandins more intense and spicy’.
Based on my reading this seemed like the best bet for our new planting. I put in a call to Ojai Lavender Farm and spoke with co-owner Tony Duboff, who confirmed my research in our chat and agreed that ‘Provence’ would be a great choice for community-scale hydrosol and herbal medicine production.
This cultivar grows around 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide, producing large flower heads around 3 inches long and nearly 1 inch wide. The flower stems are straight and erect, making them excellent for air-clearing lavender wands and flower displays.
‘Provence’ typically blooms once each year, between mid-June and mid-July, after which it should be sheared back tightly. Fortunately, the flower stalks are precisely what the apothecary will need, so the maintenance which keeps the plant healthy and robust, will also provide useful plant material.
We purchased our ‘Provence’ Lavandin from Grower’s Exchange, a large wholesale grower based in Virginia. We have purchased plants from them before and have always been satisfied, and these lavandins came nicely packaged, still moist in their small pots, and looking healthy!
Planting Lavender:
When planting lavender, choose a spot with full sun for maximum blooms. Lavender can survive in up to 50% filtered sunlight, but it will bloom best in full sun.
It is essential when planting lavender to consider soil drainage. As I learned with our initial lavenders at The BirdHouse, lavender whose roots sit in excess water will not survive. Put in gardeners’ parlance, They don’t like wet feet! When subjected to these conditions, lavenders are susceptible to root rot, which is the result of infection by a number of water molds in the genus Phytophthora.
In order to ensure good drainage, we must take precautions to ensure the soil will allow for the free passage of water. To this end, Kourik recommends planting lavender in mounds, between 4 – 9 inches tall (after settling), and 16 – 24 inches wide. Soil mixes can vertically settle up to 50%, so start with mounds around 8 – 18 inches tall, double the desired finished height.
The mounds should consist of a mixture of equal parts blended soil (an equal mix of native soil loosened by a spading fork, and compost) and round river rock, ½ to ¾ inch diameter (avoid angular pieces, which will compact over time). Kourik doesn’t mention it, but I consulted with Sunset Nursery and concluded that a good commercial cactus mix would also suffice. In the end, we used the cactus mix to achieve the blended soil portion of our mix.
You could consider harvesting local sandstone or decomposed granite for this purpose as well. Avoid fibrous organic amendments like coco coir, peat, or sphagnum moss, which tend to hold water.
Once the mounds are established, open up a planting hole which is twice the diameter and of equal depth to the lavender’s root ball. Create a small cone of soil at the base of the hole, and spread the roots outward over the cone, as equally as you can manage. Cover the roots with soil and tamp firmly. Apply a mulch of rock, sand, or wood chips, leaving 6 inches from the base of the plant. Water the plants deeply upon planting.
Watering the lavender after planting depends a great deal on your rainfall. You may have enough rain to dispense with any additional irrigation altogether. In our climate, I will water once every week, focusing on the outer edges of the mound. Avoid concentrating water directly on the root crown, which can cause the “wet feet” issues referenced above.
I will follow up this blog in several months with another post about Lavender maintenance and more lessons learned.
Happy planting!
