Lavender, an herb with many culinary uses, also makes a stunning addition to borders and perennial gardens, providing sweeping drifts of color from early summer into fall. With its silvery-green foliage, upright flower spikes and compact shrub-like form, lavender is ideal for creating informal hedges.
Which lavender is best for borders?
‘Hidcote’ is one of the best known of all lavender varieties, for good reason. It’s a compact variety of English lavender with mid-purple flowers and is ideal for planting in borders or as dwarf hedging.
Can you use lavender as a border plant?
Lavender looks great in flower borders, herb gardens and as a low hedge or edging to a border. It also grows well in containers. Lavender is a Mediterranean plant (in needs if not always in geographic origin) and needs lots of sun and fast-draining soil.
What should not be planted next to lavender?
What plants should you avoid pairing with lavender? Because lavender loves full sun and dry conditions, it doesn’t do well with perennials or annuals that prefer shade. Plants such as some types of impatiens, hosta, camellias and fuschia are not as drought-resistant, so their need for water may drown out lavender.
How do you make a lavender border?
How to plant a lavender hedge
- Fork over the soil in the area where you want to create the hedge.
- Dig a hole which is just a bit larger than the plant’s root ball.
- Take the plant out of its pot and place in the soil.
- Water in thoroughly, aiming for the roots, not the foliage.
How quickly does lavender spread?
Lavender is a slow grower and may take one to three months to reach transplanting size. The greatest threat to lavender seeds and seedlings is fungus. Keep soil mix moist, but provide good air circulation to help reduce disease outbreaks.
Does lavender come back every year?
If you have lavender plants that are hardy in your growing zone (see our Lavender 101 post for more information on this), it is likely that they will return year after year for a decade or two. But even the toughest perennials may still look quite grisly after their long winter dormancy.
Are lavender roots invasive?
Since most lavender roots are slow-growing and have an average root growth rate that is at most a foot long, lavender roots aren’t often treated as invasive.
Where is the best place to plant lavender?
full sun
Plant lavender in the ground in your sunniest spots. Lavender plants will tolerate many growing conditions, but they grow best in warm, well-draining soil, and full sun. In the garden, lavender makes an excellent companion plant for almost anything from roses to cabbage.
What plants look nice with lavender?
Lavender Plant Companions
- Echinacea.
- Aster.
- Sedum.
- Wild indigo.
- Baby’s breath.
- Drought tolerant roses.
Are bees attracted to lavender?
While both bumblebees (Bombus spp.) and honey bees (Apis mellifera) are attracted to lavender (Lavandula spp.), the plant is more popular among bumblebees.
Which lavender is most fragrant?
Lavandin
The most fragrant Lavender plants are the Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia). Several cultivars of English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) are also prized for their delightful scent. Lavandula x intermedia, also called Lavandin, is a hybrid cross between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia.
Does lavender survive winter?
English lavender species are hardy, so can survive outdoors throughout winter and tolerate frost. Whereas Spanish, French and Italian lavenders are not frost tolerant and will need to be transferred to pots and taken indoors over winter, if they’re in a climate that receives regular frosts.
What is a good border plant?
Ornamental grasses such as fountain grass are ideal for planting along borders, paths, or driveways in that receive full sun. Dwarf varieties grow to two to three feet tall, and three feet wide, adn feature fine green foliage in the summer that produces pinkish “foxtail” blooms in late summer to early fall.
How close together should you plant lavender?
This beautiful, fragrant herb is a great addition to raised beds, in-ground gardens, and growing in containers. Space lavender plants 12 to 18 inches apart in an area with plenty of sunlight and sandy, well-drained soil with a pH of 6.7 to 7.3.
What does a lavender plant look like in the winter?
Examine the branches of lavender during the winter to determine if the plants have gone dormant. Dormant plants will turn brown along the branches, while non-dormant lavender foliage will remain green and may boast their characteristic purple flowers.
Is lavender poisonous to dogs?
First of all, the ASPCA considers lavender to be toxic to dogs (as well as cats and horses). If ingested, the plant can cause nausea, vomiting, and inappetence. These symptoms can be traced to a single dangerous component known as linalool.
Does lavender keep bugs away?
Lavender has a pleasant scent that comes from the essential oils in the leaves of the plant, but the bugs hate it. Hang some dried lavender in your closet and you won’t have to worry about moths eating your clothes.
What happens if you don’t prune lavender?
Prune for healthier lavender plants
An annual pruning is an important step for long-lasting lavender (Lavandula spp. and hybrids) plants. Without it they grow a large, lanky, woody base that can split open — it looks bad and shortens the plant’s lifespan.
Should you deadhead lavender?
Proper pruning and deadheading of lavender plants will increase your harvest of flower spikes for dried flowers and make your plants more beautiful and healthy. Lavender benefits greatly from being pruned in mid-spring and deadheaded in the summer.
Is lavender a sun or shade plant?
full sun
Light/Watering:
Lavenders demand full sun, although afternoon shade may be appreciated in the hottest climates. Plants are very drought resistant once established, but will flower better if not allowed to dry out.