Lavender – Planting and care

Scientific name (Latin): Lavandula angustifolia

Family: Mint family (Lamiaceae)

It's hard to beat the scent of lavender. Grow your own lavender hedge and enjoy the lovely flowers all summer long. Lavender is a perennial shrub with blue-purple, dark blue, white, or pink flowers.

• Location
Lavender thrives best in open spaces with plenty of sunshine.
• Soil
Use Mediterranean soil when planting in pots and flower beds.
• Watering
Water regularly a couple of times a week; this is especially important when planting and potting.
• Fertilizer
By giving them some fertilizer now and then, they will bloom all summer.
• Overwintering
Overwintering plants should be pruned in the spring when there is no longer a risk of frost.

Lavender requires only a sunny, dry, and small area, making it an easy plant to grow. However, it is important to remember that this plant thrives in environments that resemble its Mediterranean origins. In Norway, it is hardy enough to be planted up to planting zone 5, provided it has favorable conditions. For those living in planting zone 3 and further north, it is recommended to plant lavender in a raised bed, a flower bed, or outdoor pots that can be stored in a bright, frost-free place to ensure success

The lavender can be planted either by seeds or by using a cutting. The seeds should be sown early in the year, either inside or in a greenhouse, directly in seed soil.Plant the seeds about 0.5 cm deep and make sure they are kept moist until the seedlings emerge.Once the plants have established themselves and are large enough to be moved, you can place them in separate pots, each with a maximum diameter of 8 cm. Replace the seed soil with a mix of flower soil and sand. Then place them in a protected area where they can grow properly before planting them outside. Prepare a well-drained place for your lavender that is preferably a bit sandy. You can also lightly lime the area before planting.

• If you intend to plant in a pot, you should either make your own soil mixture, which should be lean, or use Mediterranean soil, which is a more sandy soil. However, for this, you need to add even more sand for the lavender to thrive.
• For lavender planted outdoors, you don't need to think too much about watering, as long as it is not exposed to abnormally long dry periods, while potted lavender needs to be watered as regularly as other potted plants. For the latter, you can also add tiny amounts of nutrients every now and then.
• When the flowers are fully bloomed, you can harvest your lavender and use it for decoration or drying.
• Protect your lavender when winter comes, either by covering it with pine branches, dry leaves, winter cloth, or similar, or by placing the pots against a warm wall, wrapped in hessian or similar material that protects, above all, from rain

If you choose to prune your lavender bush in the spring, it is a great opportunity to take some nice cuttings. Break or cut off a piece of a branch or the top of your lavender bush and insert it into soil mixed with sand or perlite.

Make sure to first remove the lower leaves on the cutting, then place it in the shade. Within 3 weeks to 3 months, your cuttings will start to form roots. Wait until you see new growth before planting them in a flower bed, garden, or transplanting them to another pot or balcony box. New growth is a sign that the cutting has formed new roots.

The lavender likes to be trimmed, either by cutting it down in the fall, no later than mid-September, or in the spring as soon as the danger of night frost is over. If you trim your lavender in the spring, save the parts you cut off and use them as cuttings.

Apart from this, most of the care for lavender involves keeping moisture and wetness away from this Mediterranean plant, which does not like to be wet. You can achieve this by using lean and dry soil that is sandy, being careful with watering, and ensuring that the planting site is well-drained

Today, lavender is primarily used as an ornamental plant or for use in the perfume industry, although you may also encounter it as a flavoring in candies, pastries, and teas, as well as a spice for various meat dishes. In addition, lavender also has a history as a medicinal plant, where it is said to have both calming and antispasmodic effects. The name comes from the Latin word "lavare," which means "to wash," as it has been used for centuries in soap and detergent.

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