Herb · Lamiaceae
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
Give it full sun and sharp drainage, keep the soil lean, and lavender pays you back with fragrance for years.
Full sun
Every 10–21 days
USDA 5–9
18–35 in · 45–90 cm
Overview
Lavender's a Mediterranean subshrub grown for its silvery foliage and fragrant purple spikes, and it's a member of the mint family. It's the kind of plant that actually does better on neglect, happily filling a sunny, gravelly corner where almost nothing else wants to grow. Once it's settled in, it takes drought and heat right in stride.
The trick to keeping it going is simple, though it doesn't leave much wiggle room: lavender wants lean soil and sharp drainage more than anything. Rich ground and an eager watering can are how most plants get lost, since soggy roots rot in no time. So plant it high and dry, water it sparingly, and it can stick around for a decade or more.
And it earns its spot well past the flower bed, too. Ever tried the dried spikes? They're lovely in sachets and cooking, they pull in bees all summer, and a quick yearly shear keeps the plant dense and compact instead of bare and woody. Treat it a little rough and it holds its shape and scent for years.
Care
The short version: full sun, lean and sharply drained soil, and hardly any water once it's established. Prune it every year after it flowers, skip the fertilizer, and never let water pool around the crown.
Light
Give lavender full sun, 6 or more hours a day. Any less and it turns leafy and shy of flowers, stretching toward whatever light it can get. Plus the sun keeps the foliage dry, which helps keep disease off.
Water
Water a young plant weekly, but only until it roots in, then back way off. A grown lavender's drought-tolerant and wants no more than about half a gallon every couple of weeks, if that. Soggy soil? That's the quickest way to lose it.
Soil
Plant it in lean, sandy or gravelly ground that drains sharply. A pH of 6.5 to 7.5, neutral to slightly alkaline, suits it just fine, and loam or shallow rocky soil works too, as long as it never stays waterlogged. Rich soil just makes it floppy.
Temperature
English lavender's a tough one, handling anything from -4°F to 95°F (-20°C to 35°C) across zones 5 through 9. It's the hard winters and cold, wet soil you have to watch, not the summer heat.
Humidity
Lavender likes things dry, around 30% to 50% humidity, and it's not a fan of muggy, still air. Where summers get humid, wide spacing and good airflow keep the fungal stuff off the leaves.
Feeding
Feed it next to nothing. A thin top-dressing of coarse compost at planting is plenty, since richer feeding just grows soft, floppy stems and weakens the scent. Lean ground gives you the best fragrance.
Pruning
Shear it back by a third to a half every year, right after it flowers, to keep it compact and help it live longer. Just stay in the green growth and never cut into that old bare wood, which hardly ever resprouts.
Repotting
In a container, repot every 2 to 3 years in spring into a pot just a little bigger, using a gritty, free-draining mix. Crowded roots, soil that dries out fast, and sparse flowering are your signs it's outgrown the pot.
Size & spacing
A grown plant hits about 18 to 35 inches (45 to 90 cm) tall and roughly 24 to 35 inches (60 to 90 cm) across. Give each one that much room so air moves freely and the leaves stay dry.
When to plant
Lavender takes its sweet time from seed, but it really pays off once it's in the ground. Sow indoors in late winter, set the young plants out in spring after the last frost, and those purple spikes turn up in early to mid-summer, ready to cut just as the buds start to open.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: late winter, 10-12 weeks before last frost; germination is slow and erratic
- Plant: spring after the last frost, once soil has warmed and drains freely
- Harvest: Purple flower spikes appear early to mid-summer; harvest spikes just as the buds begin to open for the strongest fragrance, and dry in a cool airy place
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Almost every lavender headache comes back to too much water or too little sun, and most of what's left comes from skipping the yearly prune. So match up what you're seeing below and fix the conditions, not just the symptom.
Wilting and going downhill even though the soil's damp
A wilt over damp soil looks like thirst, but it's almost always root rot, usually the Phytophthora kind, and it's the number one way lavender dies. Here's the twist: the problem is too much water around the roots, not too little, so pouring on more only makes it worse. Ease off the watering, lift the plant onto a raised mound of gritty soil, and let go of any plant whose roots have already turned dark and mushy.
Fix:
- Stop supplemental watering immediately
- Replant into a raised bed, mound, or gritty sharply draining soil
- Discard plants with extensively rotted roots rather than trying to save them
The whole plant just doesn't wake up after winter
A lavender that's still brown come spring has probably taken some winter damage, whether that's cold injury in zone 5 and colder or rot from cold, wet soil sitting at the crown. Don't rush to yank it, though: lavender's slow to wake up, so wait until late spring, then cut back to any live green wood you can find. And where winters really bite, plant in sharply drained, sheltered ground and go with tough cultivars like 'Munstead' or 'Phenomenal'.
Fix:
- Wait until late spring before removing the plant, since lavender breaks dormancy late
- Cut back to any live green wood found
- Replace dead plants, choosing hardy cultivars such as 'Munstead' or 'Phenomenal'
Bare woody stems down low with green only up top
Skip the yearly trim and lavender slowly goes woody and leggy, with all the green pushed out to the tips of long, bare branches. The fix is easy: shear it back by a third to a half right after it blooms, and keep every cut in the green, because that old wood underneath hardly ever comes back. And if a plant's already gone fully bare? It's simplest to just start over from cuttings.
Fix:
- Shear back by one-third to one-half into green growth right after flowering
- Stay above the old bare wood, which rarely resprouts
- Replace very old, collapsed plants with new ones from cuttings
Spotted, yellow, or moldy leaves in damp crowded growth
When the air stays damp and still, fungal leaf spot tends to show up, and it usually starts deep inside a crowded plant where the leaves can't dry out. So open things up with more spacing and a yearly prune, water at the base in the morning, and clear away the spotty leaves. Honestly, good airflow beats any spray you could reach for.
Fix:
- Thin and space plants to improve air circulation
- Water at the base in the morning, keeping foliage dry
- Remove and dispose of affected foliage and debris
A green, happy plant that just won't flower
So the plant looks great but hardly blooms? That's usually too little sun or too much feeding. Lavender wants six hours or more of direct sun and lean ground, and rich, fertilized soil just pushes leaves instead of flowers. Move it into full sun, quit feeding it, and prune only after it blooms so you don't accidentally snip off next year's spikes.
Fix:
- Move or transplant to a spot with 6+ hours of direct sun
- Stop fertilizing and let the soil stay lean
- Prune only after flowering so next season's bloom wood is not removed
Toxicity
Lavender's a mild hazard for animals rather than a serious poison, so there's no need to panic. The oils in the leaves and flowers, mostly linalool and linalyl acetate, can upset a pet's stomach if they eat a lot, and the concentrated essential oil is way more dangerous than the plant itself. For people, though, the dried flowers are a kitchen herb that's safe in small amounts.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
Thanks to the linalool in the oils, a cat might drool, throw up, or turn its nose up at dinner. One little nibble usually blows over on its own, but the concentrated essential oil is a whole other level of danger and should never go near a cat.
Dogs Mild
A dog that chews some leaves or flowers might drool, be sick, or skip a meal for a bit. The plant itself is just a minor upset, so the thing to really watch out for is undiluted lavender oil.
Horses Mild
Horses can't throw up, so instead it usually shows as a dull appetite and a bit of a stomachache. A few grazed mouthfuls rarely cause more than that.
Rabbits Mild
Those same aromatic oils that bug cats and dogs can leave a rabbit off its food with a queasy tummy. Keep it out of the everyday menu and just offer the odd sprig now and then.
Livestock Mild
Grazing animals mostly steer clear of that strong-smelling foliage anyway, and a little taste won't do much beyond a passing stomach upset. It's only big amounts that are worth worrying about.
Birds Caution
There's no clear record of harm here, but birds are really sensitive to strong aromatic oils, so it's safer to just keep lavender, and especially the oil, away from them.
People Culinary use
For people, the dried flowers are a kitchen herb you can pop into baking and tea in small amounts, and they're perfectly safe to eat. Just keep the concentrated essential oil out of your food.
The garden plant is a mild hazard, but concentrated lavender essential oil is far more dangerous, especially to cats - never apply oil to pets or let them ingest it.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
United Kingdom
Animal PoisonLine: 01202 509000 (fee applies)
Australia
Animal Poisons Helpline: 1300 869 738
Varieties
Lavenders mostly differ in how hardy they are, how big they get, and how much heat and humidity they can handle. These are the few you're most likely to bump into.
'Hidcote'
It's a compact one, around 20 inches (50 cm), and those deep violet-blue spikes have made it a go-to for low edging for ages.
'Munstead'
A compact, cold-hardy heirloom that keeps on going in zone 5 gardens where plenty of other lavenders throw in the towel.
'Phenomenal' (Lavandula × intermedia)
This bushy lavandin hybrid is a real trooper, with strong winter hardiness and, unusually, a good handle on heat and humidity too.
French lavender (Lavandula stoechas / L. dentata)
You'll know it by those tufted rabbit-ear bracts, but it's tender to around zones 8 to 11, so in colder spots it's grown as an annual or kept in a pot.
How to propagate
Lavender's easy to multiply from cuttings and slower from seed, and only cuttings will keep a named cultivar true to type.
Stem cuttingsEasy
Summer, from non-flowering side shoots · 2-6 weeks to root in warm, moist potting mix
Cuttings are the easiest way to get more lavender, and they're the only way to keep a named cultivar true to type. In summer, grab a non-flowering side shoot, snip just below a node, strip off the lower leaves, and dip the base in rooting hormone. Keep it around 70°F (21°C) in moist mix and it'll root in about 2 to 6 weeks.
SeedModerate
Sow indoors in late winter, 10-12 weeks before last frost · 2-4 weeks to germinate; plants take a full season or more to reach flowering size
Seed's the slower, less sure-thing route, but it can still be fun. Sow indoors in late winter, 10 to 12 weeks before the last frost, and don't be surprised by patchy germination over 2 to 4 weeks, with a full season or more before anything flowers. And named cultivars won't come true from seed, so your seedlings will be a bit of a mixed bag.
Myths
Lavender is completely safe for pets because it is a calming herb.
Actually, the ASPCA lists lavender as toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, and eating it can bring on mild nausea, vomiting, and a lost appetite. The concentrated essential oil is the real danger here, cats most of all, so keep it well away from your animals.
Lavender needs rich soil and generous regular watering to thrive.
Nope, lavender's happiest in lean, sandy, sharply drained soil and shrugs off drought once it's settled in. Rich soil and lots of watering just bring on floppy growth and root rot, which is the most common way the plant dies.
Hard pruning into the old woody base will rejuvenate a leggy lavender.
Cut down into that bare old wood and it hardly ever sends up new shoots. Prune every year after it flowers, take no more than half, and stay in the green, and if a plant's already gone mostly woody, just start fresh with a new one.