Choosing Lavender Plants
By Susan L. Harrington, CEO
(Chief Education Officer)
www.GrowingLavenderPlants.com
Labyrinth Hill Lavender ~ www.LabyrinthHill.com ~ PO Box 448 ~ Hansville WA 98340
Choosing Lavender Plants
Wouldn’t you love to learn a foreign language? Why
not start with Latin for lavender lovers!? You're about
to learn about just a few of the 30 species of
Lavandula.
Lavandula angustifolia is the “official” name for one
of those species of lavender. When I say “official” I
mean the botanical nomenclature, also known as
Latin! This way, lavender growers from all over the
world can gather and talk about lavender plants
without an interpreter. Even then, there may be
confusion; you might see labels with Lavandula
officinalis or Lavandula vera–these are synonyms for
Lavandula angustifolia!
Did you know that there are more than 40 named
varieties of Lavandula angustifolia, also known as
English lavender? Many of those named varieties can
be found at your local nurseries with names like
'Hidcote', 'Munstead' and 'Royal Velvet.' They are
known for their deep purple color.
Lavandula angustifolia is one of the hardiest species
of lavender plants. So, if you’re growing lavender in a
colder climate, you’ll have a better chance with this
species.
And with the renewed interest in culinary lavender,
this species will also be your best candidate when
growing lavender as a culinary herb. Any other species
will contain too much camphor to be appropriate for
using in your favorite shortbread cookie recipe.
Looking for visual interest in the landscape? Choose
varieties of the Spanish lavender, Lavandula stoechas.
These are the ones that I describe as honeybees with
rabbit ears! They'll be one of the earliest blooming and
with constant deadheading, they'll continue to bloom
throughout the season. L. stoechas lavenders are not
used for culinary recipes.
The best way to plan your lavender garden is to decide
how you want to use the aromatic harvest, then
choose your lavender plants.
For more i