Lavender is a classic must-have in the garden. It’s fragrant, attractive, long blooming, deer and rabbit resistant, drought tolerant, and butterfly attracting! What more can you ask for in a plant? Lavender performs beautifully as a potted container plant, as a small hedge or in your perennial border. The question is which variety is best for your landscape?
There are many varieties of Lavender to choose from. English Lavender or Lavandin are the types to look for to thrive in our region. Of these types, you will find the varieties will vary in height, foliage type, bloom color and bloom time.
English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) flower in mid to late spring. They bloom profusely late spring thru early summer. After flowering, they remain a compact shrub with exotically fragrant leaves the rest of the year. These Lavenders are hardy to Zone 5 but, like all Lavenders, will not tolerate poor drainage or take kindly to high humidity.
‘Blue Cushion’ – 16” tall, very dwarf habit and free flowering, zones 5 – 9
‘Ellagance Purple’ – 12” tall, bushy mounds of silver-green foliage with intense purple-blue blossoms, fragrant, zones 5 – 9
‘Ellagance Sky’ – 12” tall, bushy mounds of silver-green foliage with soft violet-blue blossoms on long, dense spikes, fragrant, zones 5 – 9
‘Essence Purple’ – 18” tall, blueberry-colored flower spikes with green aromatic foliage, zones 5 – 9
‘Hidcote’ – 15-18” tall silvery grey leaves and deep purple-blue flowers, zones 5 – 9
‘Mini Blue– 10-12” tall, fragrant, lavender blue flowers with grey-green foliage, zones 5 – 9
‘Munstead’ – blue-purple flowers, compact grower, long bloom time, zones 5 – 9
‘Platinum Blonde – 16-24” tall, cream and green variegated foliage with blue flowers, zones 5 – 9
‘Silver Mist – 16-20” tall, lavender-purple flowers with silvery-green foliage, zones 5 – 9
‘Silver Blue – 10-12” tall, short spikes packed with aromatic, deep blue flowers, zones 5 – 9
Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia) are English Lavender Hybrids. They are a cross between English Lavender and Spike Lavender (or Portuguese Lavender) They bloom after English Lavenders and will continue blooming thru mid-late summer. These are the Lavender plants known for coloring the fields of Provence France! They also tend to grow taller and faster and are more adept at dealing with heat.
‘Dilly Dilly’ – 12” tall, silver-gray foliage with fragrant, violet-blue flower, zones 5 – 9
‘Grosso’ – 30” tall by 36-42” wide, dark blue purple flowers, very fragrant, zones 5 – 9
‘Phenomenal’ – 24-36” tall, lavender-purple flowers with silver-green foliage, exceptional heat and humidity tolerance, zones 4 – 9
‘Provence’ – 20-24” tall, subtle light lavender-blue flowers on long wands, zones 5 – 9
French Lavender (Lavendula dentata), also known as Fringed Lavender, is most often grown in containers to be wintered indoors. Plants form a bushy shrub of grey-green, finely-toothed fragrant leaves, bearing short spikes of lavender-mauve flowers in midsummer. One of the best types for forming into topiary shapes, this is easily pruned to keep a compact size. Choose a location with excellent drainage. Zones 8 – 9