How Lavender Grows and What Lavender Is Good For

Lavender is a herb that has many uses. It is often thought that people associate lavender with its scent and colour, but it is becoming increasingly popular for its herbal and medicinal aspects.

The term lavender comes from the Latin word 'larvae' which means 'to wash' and you can date the use of lavender back to ancient Egypt times. Since then, there has been progression into the belief that lavender holds purification and healing properties.

Growing your own lavender can be beneficial for a number of reasons, a great one being that it is the perfect attraction for pollinators. Another fantastic reason why you might want to grow lavender is for its smell and its ability to actually repel certain insects like moths, fleas and flies.

How Lavender Grows

Before you start to grow your own lavender, it is important that you decide on what type of lavender you would like to grow as this will affect the colour, shape and fragrance of the plant.

Choosing the right lavender can be difficult, but we have explored some of the most common types of lavender and their qualities.

English Lavender - This is the most common type of lavender as most people will recognise the fields of purple flowers. Their aroma is strong when they have been brushed up against or crushed. You want to ensure that they are matched with sandy soil that has great drainage. Depending on the reason you want to grow this type of lavender, it is great for raised walls, rock gardens and edging.

French Lavender - This type of lavender has a strong scent and blooms perfectly from early summer and can provide you will beautiful flowers for a large portion of the year. They bloom in shrubs and they sit upright.

Lavandin - This is a hybrid lavender that holds the durability of the English lavender and the ability to handle heat as the Portuguese lavender can. They produce long spikes that hold a purple flower at the end and produce a very strong scent unmatched. They are a great type of lavender to plant if they are going to be done so in large quantities or in herb gardens.

Portuguese Lavender - The colour of this lavender is slightly less bright in comparison, but does offer a great scent. The plant grows between 1 and 3 feet tall, with blooming occurring from late spring through to late summer.

Spanish Lavender - This type of lavender is typically grown for its essential oil properties and the deep purple colour it has. They bloom from the middle of spring through until the late summer months. They are not very fragrant, but they are great at tolerating higher levels of humidity.

Once you have decided what type of lavender you are growing, then you can start the growing process. You are going to want to ensure that any type of lavender has access to the sun and well-drained soil. For lavender that is being grown in pots, ensure that they are terracotta and they have drainage holes.

You are going to want to start growing your lavender in early spring, from March to May. This is because the soil has started to warm up and the risk of frost damage is significantly reduced. If you do want to plant them later on in the year, then a well established lavender plant would be best.

It is harder to grow lavender from a seed, and we would suggest that you use young lavender as seeds can take up to three months just to germinate and should be done so inside. You will need to plant the lavender 2 to 3 feet apart as it can reach up to 3 feet in height.

Once your lavender has been planted, you are going to want to water it once or twice a week and once they are well established it can be watered every two weeks. Note that this is subject to weather conditions.

Risks and Pests

Having pests in your garden can be frustrating, especially since they can cause irreversible damage to your plants.

As with most, there are certain diseases and pests that can affect the growth of plants. Below, we have explored the ones you should be aware of. On average, it is likely that you will not experience any trouble with your lavender.

Cuckoo Spit - This is a spit-like frothy collection of bubbles that can be found on lavender. This doesn't prove to be much of an issue for the lavender and its growth, but it feeds off the lavender's sap. These can be removed with a chemical-free pesticide.

Shab - This is a type of fungal infection that will kill the branches of lavender plants. It is unlikely that you will ever experience this if you are growing lavender in the United Kingdom, but it will cause the plant to wilt suddenly and produce brown spots. You can only get rid of this by digging up the plant and disposing of it.

Whitefly - This is a type of Hermipteran that will feed on the leaves of the plant.

Rosemary Beetle - These will feed on the lavender and you may notice that the leaves and the flowers are short where they have been eaten.

A great way to protect your lavender from damage caused by weather conditions is by shielding them. This can be through placing them in an area that is protected from winter winds and snow. In much less serious conditions, you can place windbreakers around your lavender to protect them from strong winds. You will not want to leave your plants under snow should they become covered as this can cause the plant to compete with the added moisture.

Mulch can protect your soil insulated. This will ensure that the roots of your lavender plants are supported and better protection from cold conditions. This regulates the temperature of your soil which is particularly useful when growing lavender throughout the year and not just in the colder temperatures.

There is a great risk in not ensuring that your lavender plant bed is kept clear and clean. This is because if there is additional debris that holds moisture, such as leaves. This can cause the lavender to die off completely. This added moisture is not good for the plant. 

Pruning 

You do not have to prune your lavender shrubs if you don't want to, but they can become ungraceful and look unkempt. You can trim them in the late summer and remove any depleted flower stalks.

Pruning lavender is essential for ensuring that they are kept in great shape and adds to their ability to regrow the following year. Ignoring this process can cause the plant to struggle in the process of regrowing and they will need to be replaced.

For most lavender plants, you will only need to trim them during their first year. After this, you are going to want to ensure that you prune once the plant has flowered. Start but getting yourself a pair of secateurs and cut the stem up to a third, so that the flower and some green stem have been removed.

You are not going to want to cut at the base of the plant. Young plants are going to require plenty of green stems for the following year. To get in good shape growth, you are going to want to leave the stems longer in the middle and get shorter as you reach the edges of the plant.

As the lavender plant starts to get older, they will establish much quicker, meaning that you need to follow the pruning to keep them in shape.

Is Lavender a Perennial?

A perennial plant is a hardy plant that will return again in spring. They will only bloom in one season a year. This doesn't necessarily mean that they will return every year as they can only reoccur for a few years. However, lavender itself is a perennial that can last for several years.

Providing you subject the lavender to the right conditions, your lavender will re-bloom each year. However, if they are subjected to the wrong conditions, then it is likely that they will die.

To increase the life of the lavender to ensure it will return, consider placing them in the correct climate. Lavender plants have Mediterranean origins which means they enjoy the heat and dry, well-drained soil. In other conditions, this can reduce their ability to flower the following year. Other factors include over-watering, too much shade and high humidity levels.

Additionally, you can grow lavender plants that are more durable than others. For example, English lavender can withstand colder climates in comparison. These are more likely to grow the following year if you are in places where the weather is cooler, such as the United Kingdom.

What Lavender Is Good For - Other Uses

In most recent times, you will find that lavender is good for anxiety and other medical purposes. Lavender oil is thought to have antiseptic properties that can help with smaller-scale issues, like bug bites.

In addition, it is thought that it has anti-inflammatory uses, which can help to heal minor burns. Medical uses include drinking lavender tea to help with digestive issues, vomiting, gas, and nausea.

There is also evidence to suggest that lavender might be useful in the treatment of anxiety, insomnia, depression, and times of restlessness. 

Anxiety

It is thought that some essential oils hold the ability to reduce symptoms of anxiety. It has been shown that lavender has the ability to affect the parasympathetic nervous system that the body uses to process feelings that are associated with anxiety. It is thought that the lavender can be used to regular the body, helping to return it to a neutral state.

It is thought that lavender can cause the following effects:

• Improve your mood
• Lower your heart rate
• Lower your adrenaline levels
• Regulated breathing
• A better quality of sleep

Lavender Aromatherapy - Aromatherapy is the practice of treatment that used natural plants and their extracts in order for well-being and better health, whether mental or physical, to be promoted. In lavender aromatherapy, the lavender essential oil will be used to heal the body and mind.

It has been a therapy practice that has been around in ancient cultures and over time our understanding of medicine has evolved and we get a much better understanding of the different ways that we can treat mental health.

It works through the use of smell and skin absorption, which can be done in the following ways:

• Diffuser
• Inhalers
• Bath salts
• Body oil, cream, and lotion

In addition to helping to improve anxiety, there are other benefits to aromatherapy, such as:

• Pain management
• Improving your quality of sleep
• Reduce stress, anger and agitation
• Reducing headaches and migraines
• Improve your digestion

Lavender Tea

Lavender tea, which is made from the buds of the lavender flower, is either fried or fresh. It is considered to be a herbal tea and like other forms of lavender, it holds various properties that make it particularly useful. We have explored this below.

Improve sleep - Since lavender can induce feelings of calmness, it can help you to sleep if you drink lavender tea before bed. Studies have shown that it will calm brain function through the triggering of certain chemical reactions in the nervous system.

Reduce inflammation - This means that it can reduce inflammation and alleviate pain in your muscles and joints.

Immunity - Lavender tea has a high antioxidant count as well as antibacterial compounds which help to fight off colds. It contains vitamin C, calcium and magnesium, which in turn support good immune health.

Digestive Health - It is thought that lavender tea can help to reduce digestive issues from diarrhoea and nausea as well as connected stomach aches and cramps. Since lavender tea has anti-inflammatory properties, it helps to reduce irritation.

Why Grow Lavender?

Growing lavender can make your garden look and smell great! They are perfect for pollinators and you can use them to your own advantage for aromatic therapies as well as for crafting tea and other products from your flowers.