Lavender
Needs genuinely free-draining soil - waterlogged winter ground is the most common cause of failure, not cold. Drought tolerant and happy on poor soil once established; prune once or twice a year to stop it going woody and bare in the middle.
- Sun
- full sun
- Water
- low
- Spacing
- 60cm
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Grows in
- Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Tasman, Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago, Invercargill / Southland
- Mature height
- 60cm
- Flowering season
- Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec
- Attracts wildlife
- Bees, Butterflies
- Companion plants
- Roses, Brassicas
- Common diseases
- Root rot in wet soil
When to plant by region
In Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson and Tasman: March-April and September-October. In Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago and Invercargill / Southland: September-October.
Growing stages
Germination & planting
- Choose a genuinely free-draining spot in full sun; waterlogged winter ground is the most common cause of failure
- Space plants around 60cm apart to allow for their mature spread
Establishment
- Water while roots establish, even though mature plants are drought tolerant
- Avoid rich soil, lavender is happiest and toughest on poor, free-draining ground
Vegetative growth
- Watch for signs of root rot if soil stays wet, particularly over a wet winter
- Once established it copes with genuine neglect and needs very little water
Flowering
- Bees and butterflies flock to the flower spikes
- Harvest or deadhead spent flower spikes to keep the plant tidy
Dieback & dormancy
- Growth slows and flowering stops over winter, particularly in cold or wet conditions
- Prune once or twice a year, ideally after flowering, to stop the plant going woody and bare in the middle
- Keep winter soil on the dry side; waterlogging, not cold, is the main cause of failure