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I’m a HUGE lavender fan! I love to grow it and I love to use it. I usually have some growing in my garden, and some growing in pots. Today I want to share some of my favorite tips and tricks on how to grow and use lavender. Lavender is a fairly easy plant to grow. It’s many uses make it one of the most popular herbs to grow in backyard gardens, and containers.
Lavender is the little herb that could. It can do anything. Lavender has anti bacterial properties, so it’s great for healing. The scent is known for its relaxation properties. It’s also great in a cut flower arrangement, a dried flower arrangement, potpourris, and it turns out great as a pressed flower.
Here are some great tips for how to grow and use lavender.
Growing Lavender
Lavender loves sunny locations with dry rocky soil. Many varieties will thrive if you plant them in full sun, with well drained soil.
Lavender will tolerate drought more than it will tolerate flooding. Lavender plants hate to have wet, or damp roots for long periods of time.
If you’re in USDA zone 5 or colder you should shield your lavender plants from the cold winds of winter. Plant your lavender in a sheltered location, or in containers you can move when the weather turns frigid.
Growing Lavender From Seed
Most varieties of Lavender can be grown from seed, but some varieties do not produce seed, and have to be grown from cuttings.
Lavender can be challenging to grow from seeds, most varieties have a low germination rate. Germination is also slow, it can take two weeks or more for most lavender seeds to germinate.
Plant your seeds in a soil less mixture, and keep the soil moist, but not wet. If the soil is too wet the seeds will not grow, and you will be more likely to have problems with fungus.
The seeds need light to germinate, so only cover them very lightly with soil. Place them in a warm sunny location.
Lavender grows very slowly from seed, so it may take several months to get a plant large enough to plant in the garden.
When you’re ready to re-pot, or plant your lavender gradually acclimate it to it’s new home before you make it a permanent resident.
How To Start Lavender From Cuttings
Most lavender varieties are best started from a cutting taken from an existing plant. This is the best method to use if you’re trying to get the exact same plant.
Take a cutting of the lavender you’d like to grow. Make the cutting no longer than 3.” Put the cutting into a soilless mixture, in a sterile container. With the cut side down in the soil.
Make sure no leaves are touching the soil mixture, this may cause the plant to rot.
Plant several cuttings at the same time, not all of them will grow.
Keep your potting medium moist but not soggy. To keep the plants humid you may want to place the pot in a plastic bag, especially for the first few days. Open the bag for a while each day so the plant doesn’t gather too much moisture.
After a couple weeks gradually acclimate the plant to it’s permanent environment. Once the plant has developed a good root system, you can carefully transplant it into a regular pot, with potting soil.
Of course I said I would share tips and tricks on how to grow and use lavender. So here are a few of my favorite ways to use lavender.
How To Dry Lavender
The best method for drying lavender is to hang it upside down in small bunches held together by rubber bands.
Hang the lavender in a warm dry place. After your lavender is dry you can add it to dried flower arrangements, add it to homemade soaps, or simply hang it upside down on your wall. One of my favorite ways to use lavender is in sachets I can put into dresser drawers or hide around the room to keep the room smelling fresh and clean, and of course relaxing.
Do you have any tips for how to grow and use lavender? We’d love to hear them.
Looking for more uses for lavender? Check out this DIY Lavender Hand Soap.
Or these homemade lavender body products.
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