How to Grow Lavender for Fragrant Blooms That Will Transport You to Provence

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Lavender has been cultivated for centuries as a practical and pretty herb that’s used for everything from perfumes to herbal baths. Lavender makes gorgeous bouquets and sachets, but it also adds a subtle floral flavor to lemonade, cocktails, and baked goods when used fresh or dried. Deer and rabbits tend to leave it alone because of its fuzzy, fragrant foliage and flowers. But it’s a favorite of pollinators!

Like the vast fields of lavender in Provence, large swaths of lavender make a striking style statement in your garden. It’s suited to all garden designs from Mediterranean to classic English to cottage style, and it’s equally at home in a kitchen garden, or potager. It pairs well with a variety of other perennials, including roses. Plant lavender in mixed borders, along walkways, as an accent in beds, or in containers, where it does equally well.

Lavender is a tough, easy-care plant once established. There are many different types of lavender, but not all kinds grow well everywhere. Read the plant tag or description to make sure it will survive winters in your USDA Hardiness zone (find your zone here).

The most common types are:

• English lavender, which does best in cold climates, USDA Hardiness zones 5 to 8

• Lavandin, a hybrid that is less fussy and grows in zones 5 to 9

• Spanish lavender, which does well in hot, humid climates, such as zones 8 to 10

• French lavender, which is typically grown as an annual but may survive winters in warmer climates

English Lavender, 2-pack

Lavender 'Sensation'

Lavender 'Hidcote'

Lavender 'Provence'

How to Grow Lavender

Find a sunny spot.

Plant your lavender in full sun, which is considered 6 or more hours of direct per day. Because it’s a native of the Mediterranean, it doesn’t mind sandy or poor soils. But it doesn’t do well in clay, which tends to hold moisture too long. If you have heavy clay soil, plant in containers.

How do I take care of lavender plants?

Select lavender plants, rather than growing from seed, which will take years and years until the plant matures sufficiently to bloom. Choose a plant with soft, supple stems. Dig a hole about two to three times the width of your container, then place it in the hole at the same level it was in the pot.

Backfill the soil, tamp down, and water well after planting, then regularly for the first season to help it get established. But don’t mulch it, because lavender likes to stay on the dry side and mulch retains too much moisture that will keep the roots soggy. You do not need to use fertilizer, which causes weak growth that may not survive the winter.

Should I prune lavender?

In the spring, trim off any dead parts back to the green growth. But never trim into the woody parts of the plant. If you take off too much or prune too aggressively, you may kill the plant. It’s also slow to show new growth in the spring, so don’t be too impatient to prune!

While lavender is a perennial, it doesn’t live forever. If it starts to look bad or doesn’t bloom well, it probably needs replanted. Most types live for about 5 to 10 years before needing to be replaced.

How do I harvest lavender?

Snip off the entire flower when just a few buds have opened on each stem. Tie the stems together to display and hang upside down to dry, or place them in a vase (no water is needed). When dry, rub the buds off and save them in a small, lidded jar for cooking or baking, or to fill sachets.

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