Lavender is a perennial evergreen semi-shrub plant of the Lamiaceae family. The height is 60-90 cm. The root is woody. The lower shoots branch well. The leaves are small: 1 cm wide and 2.5-6 cm long, located opposite. Lavender is notable for spike-shaped inflorescences of white, pink, blue, lilac, lilac-purple color. It blooms all summer long, exuding a pleasant aroma. By September, the fruits ripen - small brown nuts.
Lavender is native to the Mediterranean. The plant is thermophilic. Lavender is only able to winter outdoors in warm climates. In gardens, it becomes an adornment of alpine slides, rockeries, borders. In cold climates, they are grown in flowerpots - at the first hint of cold, move them indoors. Suitable for growing as a pot crop.
Homemade lavender from seeds
Growing lavender from seeds is a longer process.
In warm climates, seeds can be sown before winter - they will undergo natural stratification and sprout in spring. In the first year, the plant will grow its root mass, and flowering will come in the next season.
When to plant lavender seeds for seedlings
It is still preferable to plant lavender with seeds for seedlings: sow in late winter (February) in boxes or in early spring (March) for germination in a greenhouse on the street. Stratify the seeds beforehand: mix seeds with sand, pour into container, cover plastic wrap and keep in the vegetable section of the refrigerator for a couple of months until sowing.
- The soil needs to be loose.
- Deepen the seeds by a few millimeters, keeping a distance of 1.5-2.5 cm.
- Moisten crops with a spray bottle.
- Germinate at 15-21 ° C. Maintain moderate soil moisture.
- Seedlings will appear in 2-4 weeks.
- Young plants will need 8 hours of daylight hours.
- With the appearance of 2 true leaves, transplant them into separate containers with a mixture of peat and perlite.
Grown plants with an earthy clod. Fertilize the soil with granules of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Carry out the next transplant with a growth of about 7.5 cm. Start hardening the seedlings - take them out for several hours in fresh air.
Planting lavender seedlings outdoors
Planting in open ground with the establishment of real heat without night frosts.
Seat selection
For good growth and flowering should find the right place. Perfect fit open area with bright sunlight. It will take root in the shade, but do not expect lush flowering. The root system of lavender reacts painfully to high humidity soil - avoid swampy areas, with close bedding groundwater, you should build an elevated flower bed.
How to plant
- Dig up the area by adding compost. If the soil is acidic, be sure to add agricultural lime or ash.
- Make the holes corresponding to the size of the root system.
- Transfer lavender with complete earthen coma.
- Keep a distance between the bushes equal to maximum height bush (80-120 cm depending on the species, variety).
- To make it look monolithic in the future, reduce this distance by half.
- Deepen the root collar by 5-7 cm. Water abundantly.
Propagation of lavender by cuttings and layering
The most popular is vegetative propagation (by cuttings, layering).
- Cuttings root quickly and easily. Do this in early spring or in the middle of summer.
- Green and lignified cuttings with at least 2 internodes can be rooted.
- Cut the leaves from the bottom, treat with a rooting stimulant and plant the cutting in loose soil, deepening a couple of centimeters, cover with a jar, cut with a plastic bottle or film.
- Air regularly, moisten the soil.
Start in the spring. Bend one of the lower shoots to the ground, fix it in place of contact with the soil and sprinkle it with earth, the top should remain on the surface. Water. After about 3 months of active growth, the new plant is ready to separate from the mother bush.
How to care for lavender in the garden
Watering and loosening the soil
Lavender as the topsoil dries up. Waterlogging leads to yellowing of the shoots and rotting of the root system. Drought will not kill lavender, but bloom will not be as luxurious.
To maintain the optimum moisture level, mulch the soil around the bush with decayed foliage, compost, leave the base of the trunk uncovered.
It is important to regularly loosen the soil, remove weeds.
Top dressing
In the presence of mulch, top dressing can be omitted - the compost and leaves will gradually decompose, feeding the plant.
At the beginning of the growing season, feed nitrogen fertilizers: Dissolve 2 tablespoons of fertilizer in 1 bucket of water and pour around the perimeter of the bushes.
When flowering begins, complex mineral fertilizer... Also 2 tablespoons of fertilizer per 10 liters of water.
Pruning
Cropping is not mandatory procedure... After flowering, shorten the shoots a couple of centimeters. Be careful in your actions: shortening the shoots to the level of the lignified part can lead to the death of the bush.
Wintering
Lavender bushes overwintering outdoors can withstand temperatures as low as -25 ° C. A shelter should be built, but do not cover with leaves, otherwise the bushes will begin to rot. Better cover with spruce branches.
Diseases and pests
The plant is rarely exposed to diseases and pests.
From an excess of moisture, gray rot may appear - remove the damaged areas, treat with a fungicide. Be sure to adjust your watering.
The scent of the plant protects it from pests. Such a nuisance as pennies is possible - they lay their larvae, covering them with a substance similar to foam. This does not harm, but spoils the decorative effect. Just rinse them off with a jet of water.
Types of lavender with photos and names
There are 45 types. They are classified into 2 groups:
English lavender
It has narrow leaf plates, elongated spike-shaped inflorescences. They winter hard in the open field.
French lavender
Has wider leaves and shortened inflorescences. Most often grown as a pot crop. Withstands temperature drop down to -15 ° С.
Let's consider in more detail the popular types:
Lavender real or English, spikelet, narrow-leaved Lavandula angustifolia ‘Elizabeth’ photo
The bush is 1 m high and wide. There are subspecies 30 cm high. The inflorescences are spicate. The most common type.
Broad-leaved lavender Lavandula latifolia
On one stem there are 3 inflorescences, it has the brightest aroma.
Lavender Dutch hybrid or lavender Lavandula intermedia
The result of crossing the two previous species. The bush can reach dimensions of 2 m (height and width). The inflorescences are curved.
Pedunculate lavender Lavandula pedunculata
Has an unusual bright purple bloom.
Lavender toothed Lavandula dentate
It has soft leaves green-silver color. Differs in larger flowers.
The benefits of lavender
In addition to decorating gardens, lavender is used for medicinal, perfumery, and culinary purposes.
Lavender water is found in many cosmetics.
Lavender oil has an antiseptic effect and can be used to lubricate burns. Lavender syrup is used to treat migraines. Infusions are used to treat diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
Brew lavender tea or take a bath with dried buds - it soothes, helps to cope with insomnia.
Lavender can cause allergic reactions.
In cooking, lavender is used as a spice for fish, meat, dry petals are added to sauces, salads, and confectionery is decorated with flowers. Sugar with a lavender aroma is popular in European countries.
Lavender honey is very useful.
Many amazingly beautiful garden plants require some care and close attention. If you do not devote enough time and energy to them, they can wither and die, stop blooming, or simply lose their decorative effect. But even unpretentious cultures need attention too. So, fragrant and healing lavender can be a wonderful decoration. personal plot... Growing her is not that difficult. Today we will talk about what lavender needs, care in the fall, preparation for winter in the suburbs, what should be.
Lavender is not grown very often in the Moscow region. In fact, this is a rather thermophilic culture. She feels great in the middle lane in spring and summer, but the cold in winter can destroy such an attractive plant. but experienced gardeners claim that for correct cultivation and adequate preparation for winter, such a culture can manifest itself with better side.
It is because of the thermophilicity of lavender that residents of the Moscow region should place it on a site in the right places... Such a culture will feel great in an area illuminated by a bright sun, where groundwater is low. It is important that the landing site is well protected from strong winds, berry bushes can play the role of a protective barrier, fruit trees or outbuildings.
Does lavender need pruning for the winter in the fall??
In fact, many gardeners argue over the appropriateness of pruning lavender for the winter. Many amateurs and professionals note that without pruning, the spreading branches hold the snow perfectly, as a result of which the bush hibernates as if under a snowdrift, as if covered with a blanket.
However, if the winter is with little snow, lavender branches may well freeze out. The bush is unlikely to die completely from this, but it will definitely not benefit him. In addition, strong gusts of wind can lead to the fact that fragile lavender twigs simply break, and this increases the likelihood of developing various diseases.
Thus, you need to make a decision on the need for pruning at your own peril and risk, focusing on the meteorological forecast, as well as on the general condition of the plant. Those readers of Popular About Health who nevertheless decide to prune lavender should do it in early September, since the plant will need some time to heal wounds after such a procedure. In the event that pruning did not work out on time, it is better to abandon it until spring.
For those varieties of the lavender plant, whose age has reached the ten-year mark, it is advisable to perform a radical rejuvenating pruning, cutting off all branches, without exception, up to four to five centimeters.
How to cover lavender for the winter?
Although such a culture is considered thermophilic, in fact, it survives quite successfully a temperature drop to minus twenty-five degrees. But, nevertheless, in order to protect lavender in the cold, it is advisable for the inhabitants of the Moscow region to organize it additional protection from frost.
However, the most dangerous for such a culture are periods of temperature drops - when a thaw in the daytime is replaced by frost in the dark. Due to such temperature fluctuations, the melt water becomes ice, covering the plant, and the lavender plantings freeze over and feel a serious oxygen deficiency. Therefore, it is worth organizing a shelter for the bushes.
And this is not so difficult to do. First of all, the bush must be tied, this will help to avoid the falling of the snow mass inside it. The area of the trunk circle should be covered with a layer of mulch - about ten centimeters. Dry peat or pine needles can act as such a shelter. In addition, as an additional shelter, it is necessary to build a kind of hut made of spruce branches over the connected bush.
It is important to remember that it is better not to use dry leaves for sheltering lavender, as they are likely to lead to damping out of the bushes.
In fact, the described care measures will be quite enough for the narrow-leaved lavender to overwinter in the Moscow region without any problems. In the warmer territories of our country, she does not need shelter at all, since she calmly endures the winter without additional manipulations.
Owners of broad-leaved lavender varieties, which are more capricious and thermophilic, will have to try a little more. The described measures of preparation for winter will not be enough for them to protect them from the cold. Such crops require high hilling, wrapping in hay or straw, as well as a fairly reliable cover with spruce branches and brushwood.
In winter, in the Moscow region, care for lavender bushes is practically not required. You should only visit them periodically in order to fix the shelter, if it is disheveled by the wind, and also to throw snow under the landings.
If lavender is grown in a container
In the event that you grow lavender in a pot in your garden, the described methods of protection from cold weather will not work for it. Such a plant must be hidden from frost in a greenhouse, on a warmed veranda or on a loggia. It makes no sense to bring this culture into the house, since it will not have a period of rest in the warmth. It is allowed to move the pot to a non-freeze cellar.
In fact, in the Moscow region, preparing lavender for wintering is not at all difficult. And the surprisingly fragrant bushes of such a plant will be a wonderful decoration of the personal plot in the warm season.
The lavender shrub looks very beautiful and it will be a shame if it freezes in winter. How to keep lavender until spring?
Already in October-November, depending on the weather conditions in your region, they are preparing the plants for winter, namely, they are pruned and covered. As a covering material, it is necessary to use spruce branches, it is breathable and does not allow early spring, when the thaw begins and return frosts occur, to form ice on the branches.
If you did not spend it at the end of summer, then leave this work already until spring, otherwise pruning in the fall will lead to increased sensitivity of the plant and instability to frost and cold winds. The procedure for preliminary pruning of lavender twigs is desirable, it allows the plant to rejuvenate and bloom more magnificently next year. Uncut long branches from strong cold winds can break off, and the plant will become vulnerable not only to frost, but also to disease. When preparing lavender for winter, cut off only those branches that have bloomed and only the green part, 
stepping back 3 cm from the stiff one. For the shrub, the healing process will be painless.
Non-frost-resistant varieties of lavender, in addition to being covered with spruce branches, also mulch. Barrel circle cover with a thick layer of peat or sawdust. Fallen leaves and straw are not used for mulching, air exchange under them is limited, and this leads to decay. You can cover lavender with lutrasil or agrospan. To do this, the bush is tied with twine, a kind of hut is built around it from rods or stakes, they are well fixed so that the structure does not break from the wind, and they are covered with dense material on top. 
In the spring, the discovery is carried out gradually, adapting the plant to the bright sunlight.
Lavender grown in containers must be brought into an unheated room (veranda, balcony), otherwise the soil in the pot will freeze and the plant will die.
In the southern region, due to its cold resistance, lavender can do without shelter, but only if the frost does not drop below -20 ° C and the winters are snowy.
In the spring, they inspect lavender, those shoots that are damaged by frost are cut off.
Lavender, as a single plant, looks beautiful, but when made from it hedge or a boarder, that's impressive. Do not deny yourself this pleasure.
It is impossible to remain indifferent, passing by lavender bushes. This is not because they look amazing outwardly, pleasing the eye with a purple color, but because the scent of lavender exudes incredibly enchanting. Inhaling the magic smell, an idea is already ripening in the gardener's head: to plant lavender bushes in his area. Before planting, you need to figure it out: garden lavender- planting and care in the open field - is it difficult? Is she capricious in her care and what diseases is she susceptible to? This is important because the gardener has made the final decision to grow these flowers in his garden.
Varieties and types of lavender with descriptions and photos
The plant is a perennial, a member of the labiate family. When it comes to lavender, the image of lilac flowers appears in front of your eyes. But, in fact, her tint palette is very different. Lavender can be: blue, pink, white, and other colors. It looks like a shrub that grows up to 50 cm in height. The flower looks like a spikelet.
Features of English lavender
This type is the most famous and widespread. The leaves of the plant are narrow, and the inflorescences are in the form of spikelets. English lavender has good adaptation to growing conditions in Middle lane RF. Often, it does not need to be transplanted from open soil into a greenhouse for wintering. Florists prefer these varieties:
- Alba, which has white inflorescences, and grows to a height of half a meter;
- Rosea - on this bush, whose height is 40 cm, flowers of a pink-purple hue grow;
- in the Manstad variety, the bush grows up to 40 cm, and the flowers are bright blue;
- a plant related to the Headcoat Giant - takes up little space in the flower bed, reaches a height of 60 cm;
- The hidcoat blue bush is low - up to 40 cm, the inflorescences are lilac-blue.
Lavender Munstead - Compact winter hardy variety 
Lavender Hidcote Blue - flowering period July-August 
Lavender Alba is a spreading shrub with densely spaced shoots, up to half a meter high 
Lavender Rosea is a compact evergreen dwarf shrub with many shoots French lavender
The leaves of this plant are wider, and the spikelets of inflorescences are smaller in length (this is what distinguishes it from English lavender). This culture is capricious in its care. It does not tolerate low temperatures, which is why it is most often used to decorate houses. The most famous varieties of broadleaf lavender are:
- in the Yellow Vale variety - the flowers have a dark lilac shade, the bracts are crimson, and the leaves have a yellow-green color;
- a distinctive feature of Regal Splendur - are dark lilac flowers;
- the newly emerged view of Rocky Road has big flowers shade of blue + lilac;
- a feature of Tiara is the large flowers of a bluish tint, and the bracts are of a beige tint;
- Helmsday has flowers in a shade that combines burgundy and lilac tones.
Breeders have also bred other varieties of lavender that can be cultivated, but they are not planted very often.
Tiara variety - frost-resistant with large flowers 
RockyRoad is a new variety of broadleaf lavender Dutch lavender (hybrids)
A group of very beautiful hybrids is classified as Dutch lavender, presented in a wide colors. Important feature- their pungent aroma. They occupy a niche between English lavender and other species of the genus.
This culture big size, which has narrow leaves of a "silver" shade, and large elongated flowers on long peduncles. The flowers are very heavy, so the stalks bend under their weight. Hybrid lavender blooms in the middle of summer. The well-known varieties of Dutch lavender include:
- a distinctive feature of the Alba variety - snow-white flowers;
- the Arabian Knight bush is represented by flowers of a dark blue or dark lilac color;
- the owner of flowers of light purple color, Sawyers variety;
- represented by large-sized flowers of a lilac-lilac tone, the Grosso variety;
- Richard Gray is a small bush with dark purple flowers.
Sawyers - bloom from April to October 
Regal Splendour - shrub grows up to 70 cm in height 
Richard-Gray - compact shrub, drought tolerant 
Grosso is the most popular variety for lavender oil production Scalloped lavender
The Mediterranean has given the world toothed lavender. This is a plant, very loving warmth, and quite compact. He has delicate cut leaves of a shade of "silver", and fragrant flowers large, blooming in the middle summer season... Lavender of this species is afraid of cold weather. The most popular type of toothed lavender is Royal Crown, which pleases the eye with purple flowers.
Planting lavender outdoors
Taking into account the growing conditions of the plant in wildlife, you need to choose a specific place for its landing. It should be: in an open area, with good moisture removal. Lavender needs plenty of sunshine. She loves dry times, since during this period the plant is enriched with complex ether compounds, and lavender exudes a strong aroma.
Lavender doesn't like tall plants that grow nearby. If such are near, lavender will react to such a neighborhood by turning the color of its leaves gray-green, and the flowering will deteriorate.
The shrub hates being transplanted. If the location is well chosen, lavender grows well for 25 years. That is why this particular plant should be planted according to the principle "once and for all" so as not to cause problems with transplants.
Container (balcony) lavenders, reaching 4 years of age, lose their attractive appearance. This is due to the fact that their roots do not grow constantly. Their development is limited by the volume of the pot (or container) in which the lavender grows. That is why, after a certain period of time, they need to be changed to young ones.
Royal crown 
Hidcote giant Lavender is not demanding on the nutrient content of the soil. But, all the same, it is advisable to plant this plant on moderately fertile loams and sandy loams, which have neutral or alkaline acidity (pH in the range from 6.5 to 7.5).
Lavender is not demanding for fertilizers and watering.
It can withstand occasional rainfall. Maybe with the help of their strong roots, get the right amount water and nutrients out of the ground. In the case when lavender is grown on the balcony, fertilizers are necessary. You can't do without them.
So that the shrub is not exposed to damping (soaking), it is advisable to immediately plant it in a higher place. This can be a hill, a raised flower bed, or a slope. There should be drainage in the planting pit, and coarse sand or crushed stone should also be poured there.
A dry and sunny place is good for lavender. This flower does not tolerate too much moisture.
Lavender is planted in the ground at the site using different methods. Experts are convinced that only one method is not enough. It's not even worth using just one plant. To be on the safe side, they acquire and plant different ways several pieces at once.
The planting itself must be carried out either at the beginning of spring (as soon as the snow melted), or in the fall - at the end of September before the time when the first frosts come.
The easiest way to plant is to buy ready-made lavender. Why?
Argument 1. Lavender that was purchased is propagated by cuttings to preserve the variety in case the wintering is unsuccessful.
Argument 2. In the case of its normal development and wintering, on next year it will be possible to carry out the reproduction procedure by layering. For this, shoots are pinned into grooves of shallow depth 2, and then sprinkled with soil.
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Miracle buttock The fairy collection is suitable for a windowsill, a loggia, a balcony, a veranda - any place in a house or apartment where the light of the sun falls. You can get the first harvest in 3 weeks. Wonderful buttock The fairy harvest bears fruit all year round, and not only in summer, as in the garden. The life of the bushes is from 3 years or more, from the second year you can add top dressing to the soil.
It is worth taking into account: only 1 stem grows from the root of the plant. It will not be possible to use the usual division of the bush to propagate lavender. In the case when in the spring the plant is cut by 10 centimeters, they huddle as high as possible, fill the ground deep into the bush, almost all the stems will turn into layering. By the beginning of autumn, they will acquire roots, and they can be transplanted.
This method has a minus. It's a pity, but not all the plants that were purchased will take root and overwinter perfectly. The reasons can be very different: lack of light, very acidic soil, diseases, poor-quality planting material, violations of the rules for caring for the plant.
Experts advise for reproduction to ask friends or amateurs - florists - a zoned variety that tolerates wintering well.
Lavender cuttings
Using reproduction in this way, one obtains a large number of planting material. But the gardener must have at least the most minimal skills related to rooting issues. You also need to have a winter garden (this is perfect option). Maybe it's a cold greenhouse or balcony so that there is no frost. And the temperature should be 5 to 10 degrees above zero.
It is characteristic of lavender that the rooting of semi-lignified cuttings is best done. Unfortunately, in 1 winter, they do not tolerate low temperature indicators. To help the plant, it is necessary to provide it with conditions in the winter garden (if any) before planting lavender in the spring season.
When there is no such garden, they try to "accelerate" the vegetation of lavender after winter by the fact that cuttings are carried out 30 days earlier than it should be. This is done with the aim of helping young plants so that by the beginning of cold weather (autumn), the plants become stronger, and without problems transferred wintering in open soil.
How to carry out the process:
- at the beginning of spring, the bush, which was chosen for grafting, is watered with water (warm), slightly pruned, sprayed with Epin's solution;
- after that, you need to cover with agril every evening, as well as during cold days until a warm temperature is established;
- then the gardener watches the bush. As soon as spikelets appear, cuttings from 8 to 10 cm long are cut, cleaned from the lower leaves, placed in a rooting machine, and then planted in the composition of sand + wood chips in a ratio of 2: 1. Can also be planted in sand or pure perlite. If this is a common container, use a 6x6 cm scheme. If pots, then plant cuttings 1 in each pot.
In order for the cuttings to take root successfully, a greenhouse will work best. It is necessary to create conditions there: provide ventilation, spray the plants for 5-6 weeks.
It is worth paying attention!
They accelerate the rooting process by providing the cuttings with lower heating. Because if the temperature of the soil and environment the same root system does not develop quickly.
Practice has shown that the roots of plants that have been grown from seeds grow much faster than the roots of cuttings. This is why cuttings will need to be handled in small quantities when they are planted in containers.
Growing lavender from seeds
Gardeners find the process of planting lavender seeds difficult. Despite this, this method has irreplaceable advantages:
- So, using seedlings, you can annually carry out "repair" of frozen plantings on the site.
- Seedlings tend to adapt more easily even in difficult climatic conditions that are not entirely comfortable for lavender.
- When the seeds appear in lavender, which was grown in this way, then the new generation will have even more developed resistance to low temperatures. Over time, in this way, it will be possible to increase the cold resistance of various varieties.
Interestingly, the seeds of lavender "Normandy" annual are the seeds of perennial lavender, which is a thermophilic plant. It is also known as L. multifida. Differs in rapid growth. In the first year, it can please the gardener with its flowering. If wintering is organized according to all the rules, this type of lavender can also become a container perennial.
Poor germination of fresh lavender seeds has been noted. It is for this reason that one-year-old seeds with good germination are used for planting. Also, using stratification or soaking, the germination rate can be increased.
How to soak seeds before planting
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The seeds are placed in a container with warm water and left overnight. Another option: you should pour in 1 tsp. hydrogen peroxide into a glass with 100 ml of water, add seeds there, and leave them there for 3 hours.
Stratification is performed in different ways:
- the seeds are sprinkled with sand and placed in the refrigerator (on the lower shelf) for a period of 30 days, after which they are sown;
- seeds are sown in a pot, after which they are dropped into the ground (in the garden), but in March they are brought into the house;
- seeds are sown in a bowl and placed in the refrigerator until the time when shoots appear, etc.
As soon as shoots have appeared, it is necessary to create a temperature for lavender seedlings from +15 to +20 degrees. In addition, you should ensure:
- good lighting;
- neat dosed watering;
- a pick in the phase of 2 leaves;
- pinching at a height of 5 cm;
- as well as hardening before planting (it is advised to do it in mid-May).
When conditions are good, the strongest seedlings can be expected to bloom as early as 1 year old. 
Lavender care
Lavender is not a moody plant. Despite this, it is necessary to care for the bush so that it is strong and beautiful. Those gardeners who have great-looking lavender probably take great care of it.
How to water lavender
Lavender loves moisture in moderation. This means that you need to water it as soon as it becomes clear that the soil is dry. Typically, in the summer, watering frequency is 2 to 3 times a week. In the off-season, this figure is 1 time in 7-10 days.
Loosening and top dressing of the soil
Usually, the land in which lavender grows is monitored. It is noticed that if the soil is loose and saturated with oxygen, the plant grows well, and the inflorescences are very beautiful.
We must take note!
Lavender is a shrub whose roots are not as deep in the soil as other shrubs. When the gardener loosens the soil, he must handle the tool as carefully as possible so as not to hurt the roots and not destroy the entire plant.
Fertilizers like lavender. She can very quickly absorb top dressing, which will soon affect her growth and color. The use of both mineral complex fertilizers and organic stimulants is suitable.
How to prune lavender
Lavender bushes differ in that they have a disordered shape. To ensure a well-groomed appearance of the flower bed, periodically, the crown of the bush must be pruned.
Pruning is performed, depending on which genus and species the bush belongs to. But there are general rules pruning for all plant types:
- The inflorescences must be cut off after the first flowering.
- Do not touch the stiff plant pillar, only a young shoot should be cut.
- The cut off part should not be more than 5 cm.
Preparing for winter
It is necessary to provide the bushes with a reliable shelter, because they have to withstand a very low temperatures hibernating in open soil. Of course, if the region has a warm climate, you don't have to worry about it.
Experts say lavender is frost-resistant even when the temperature drops to -25 degrees. When the temperature is even lower, you need to take care of the insulation of the bush. It will not hurt to provide warmth in case there is little snowfall in winter.
When the season comes to an end, it is necessary to prune the bushes. Branches are placed on top of the garden bed (preferably pine or spruce). The usual type of insulation, in the form of a layer of leaves, in this case, will not work. Lavender will start to rot under this cover.
It turns out that caring for lavender is not as difficult as it might seem right away. If you use compost and mulch, you will not need to weed, loosen, fertilize the soil. The gardener will only have to trim the bushes at the right time in order for them to become strong and delight the eye with abundant flowering. 
Benefits of lavender and its uses
Lavender is a multifunctional representative of nature. A man has long studied its properties, and found them to be used in different areas of his life.
The plant, possessing incredible attractiveness, and so it is a magnificent decoration of the garden site. During the summer months, it blooms and smells sweet. In winter, she will delight the inhabitants of the house with picturesque landscapes. What could be more beautiful than green bushes wrapped in flakes of snow on a frosty winter day?
Lavender flowers are indispensable helpers in everyday life. The moth will not be able to harm things, as lavender flowers will reliably protect them from harm from this insect. You just need to dry the plant, put it in a cloth bag and put it in the closet with clothes.
- Excellent spices are made from this plant. They are ideal for meat dishes and soups.
- Lavender tea is a good relaxing remedy. With its help, you can get rid of headaches and migraine attacks.
- If you dry the lavender, you can create an unusual flower arrangement by decorating your home.
- Lavender flowers are used to make hand cream and scented hair balm.
Video: Lavender - planting and care in the open field in the suburbs
Garden lavender: varieties with photo names
Arctic Snow cultivar 
Blue cushion variety 
Lavender Blue Ice 
Christiana 
Lavender (Lavandula) is a genus of ornamental herbaceous plants, the home of which is the Mediterranean, southern Europe. Lavender is grown in gardens with single bushes, decorated with plant borders, alpine slides, planted along hedges, paths, on open terraces... Lavender bushes look great among border roses, perennial herbs with bright green foliage up to 50 cm high.
In France, in the province of Provence, you can find huge plantations of lavender, which is grown on an industrial scale.
The natural habitat of the lavender plant is the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean, Spain, Italy and France. Fragrant shrubs and shrubs are common in the Alps, Greece, Algeria, Corsica and Sardinia. The plant is actively cultivated in the Caucasus and Kuban, in Moldova, Central Asia.
Lavender is a small (30 cm to 1 m) evergreen perennial shrub or a semi-shrub, belongs to the family Lamiaceae or Labiatae. The plant, like basil, mint, sage, lemon balm, rosemary and other members of this family, is aromatic, widely used in the culinary and perfumery industry, folk medicine, aromatherapy.
The shrub has no central stem. On numerous branched shoots, densely covered with silvery-green foliage, inflorescences are formed, similar to spikelets, with flowers of white, pink, lilac, blue or purple colors.
There are over 20 types of lavender, from which many varieties have been derived. They differ in the size and shape of the bushes, the color of the flowers. The most widespread in home floriculture are two types of lavender.
- Narrow-leaved (aka English). The bushes reach 80 cm in height and about 1 m in diameter. Flowers are more often purple in color, but can be white, pink or blue. Flowering begins at the end of spring. And the buena vista variety blooms twice - in spring and autumn. This is the most frost-resistant species, which you can not dig out during the winter, it is enough to insulate the bushes.
- Broadleaf (aka French). A hybrid of narrow-leaved and spikelet lavender is called lavender. Bushes with very beautiful inflorescences formed by flowers of burgundy, lilac, purple color. Lavandin varieties have a rich aroma, are used in the production of lavender oil, cooking.
Many hybrid varieties with large double flowers have been bred from narrow-leaved lavender.
Growing conditions in open areas
Growing lavender requires regular maintenance, including:
- weed removal;
- loosening the soil;
- systematic watering;
- fertilization;
- pruning;
- preparation for winter.
Lighting and watering
It is best to grow lavender in open, well-ventilated, sunny places. In the shade, lavender blooms will be short, sparse. Watering is carried out only in severe drought - excessive moisture is harmful to plants, it can lead to decay of the root system.
If the location is chosen correctly, the shrub can grow on the site for at least 25 years. Indoor lavender, grown on balconies in containers, loses its decorative appearance 4–5 years after planting, since its growth and development is limited by the volume of the planting capacity.
Temperature
Lavender bushes tolerate summer heat normally. And low temperatures can destroy them, so plants need to be insulated in autumn. If thermophilic lavender cannot be grown due to the harsh climate, it is planted in flowerpots, and with the onset of cold weather they are placed in a cool place with a temperature of at least 10 ° C.
Fertilization
To grow lush bushes, in the spring, during the period of active growth, they need to be fed with fertilizers with a high nitrogen content. At the beginning of flowering, lavender is fed with complex mineral fertilizers with a high potassium content. Organic fertilizers bring in at the end of summer.
If the soil is mulched with compost, the plant may not be additionally fed throughout the season.
Introduction potash fertilizers will provide abundant and long-lasting lavender bloom.
Additional care
- mulching the soil on the site with decorative substrates or decayed foliage;
- ensuring normal access of oxygen to the root system - regular hilling of bushes, loosening the soil, removing weeds;
- timely pruning of shoots;
- preparation for winter.
Pruning
Pruning is necessary to grow a lush lavender bush. Shoots are not cut off much, shortened by a few centimeters. It is advisable to cut off the shoots only to the lignified part, otherwise the plant may die.
Pruning is carried out after wintering. Simultaneously with shaping the crown, it is necessary to remove broken, frozen, old branches (they need to be cut off by no more than a third of the length).
Preparing for winter
In snowy winters, the plant tolerates frost normally. But if little snow falls in winter, lavender can freeze and die. It will help to avoid this additional insulation bushes branches conifers... Plants cannot be insulated with ordinary foliage - they will rot.
Growing rules in containers
- Lavender planted in a container should be fed with any complex mineral fertilizer every 2 weeks.
- As soon as the need arises, transplant into a large container using the transshipment method (while preserving the earthen ball).
- For planting or transplanting, use a soil substrate consisting of sand or gravel (1 part), humus (1 part), turf (2 parts).
- Water only after the soil is completely dry.
- Plant the plant in light-colored pots. Dark containers exposed to full sun become very hot. As a result, the root system overheats, and the plant, even such a heat-loving one, dies.
Lavender grown in pots and containers needs more feeding than bushes growing in open field.
Planting and transplanting
For good and quick adaptation, it is better to plant varieties adapted to climatic conditions the region in which they will grow. Planting is carried out in early spring, when frosts have passed. Less often, the plant is planted in the fall - from the end of September until the onset of the first frost.
When planting, you need to follow several rules:
- form a bed with a height of about 40 cm;
- immediately before planting, place the bush in water for 1 hour;
- on the eve of planting, cut off the upper part of the bush, small, damaged shoots;
- plant at a distance of 80 to 120 cm, depending on the size of an adult shrub of the planting variety;
- make a hole about 30 cm deep so that the roots can freely fit in it.
The culture does not tolerate a transplant, therefore it is better to immediately allocate a permanent place for the plant in the garden or on the site. If you need to move the bushes to another place, they are transplanted very carefully, with big lump earth so as not to damage the root system.
Lavender bushes thrive in alkaline loamy and sandy loam soil. The soil should be good for air and moisture. During planting, coarse compost is introduced into the soil. And acidic soil can be neutralized by adding wood ash or limestone.
The ornamental shrub has a very powerful root system: the length of the roots can reach 2 m. Therefore, in areas with high groundwater levels, the plant may die as a result of root decay. In humid climates, lavender should be planted on high beds, and around the base of the bushes, it is advisable to lay out very coarse sand or fine gravel with a layer of 5 cm.
Heavy clay soils, poorly permeable to air and moisture, lavender will withstand only in a dry hot climate.
Lavender bushes grow large and tall when grown in regions with hot summers and mild winter frosts, and in more severe conditions, the plants are compact.
Bloom
The bushes bloom from April to the end of summer, and the peak of flowering occurs in the middle summer period... Collecting flowers annually helps maintain the vitality, longevity and decorativeness of lavender shrubs.
Lavender flowers can be dried. It is better to harvest raw materials when the inflorescences are fully open - 1-2 weeks after the beginning of flowering. You need to dry flowers in a well-ventilated, shaded room (optimally in the attic).
Growing problems
Lavender, like other garden and indoor plants, is attacked various diseases and pests. The most susceptible to disease are thickened plantings of shrubs that are not properly ventilated.
Gray rot is the most dangerous fungal disease that infects a plant when grown under conditions high humidity(rainy summer, excessive watering). Treatment consists of pruning and burning the affected shoots. Some growers are trying to get rid of gray rot by spraying the shrub with Bordeaux mixture or fungicides. But in this way it is not always possible to get rid of gray rot.
Reproduction
There are three ways to propagate lavender:
- layering;
- cuttings;
- seeds.
Layers
Reproduction by stem layering is considered the simplest and accessible method... A strong and healthy bush shoot is bent down, laid horizontally, sprinkled with soil. A load is placed on top. After a few months, when the shoot takes root, it will be able to grow without the mother plant. It is necessary to separate the young shoot sharp knife, and the place of the cut must be treated with powdered coal.
Cuttings
The root system in plants grown from cuttings develops much more slowly than in bushes grown from seeds.
For reproduction, undamaged, healthy cuttings 8-10 cm long are taken. They are cleaned of the lower leaves, planted in clean sand, perlite, or in a mixture of sand (2 parts) with wood chips (1 part). Cuttings are planted in common containers (the distance between the cuttings should be 6 cm) or in separate pots.
Planted cuttings should be covered with foil or glass, regularly ventilated and sprayed for 5-6 weeks. The rooting process can be accelerated by providing bottom heating of the soil. At the same soil and air temperature, the root system develops more slowly.
Propagation by cuttings and layering is best done in early spring or September.
Seeds
The seed method of propagation of lavender is the most difficult and long-lasting, it is used only in cases where it is not possible to propagate the plant by cuttings or layering. The main problem is that fresh seeds do not germinate well. Seed steeping and stratification procedures help to increase germination rates.
Soak the seeds in warm water for 12 hours or in a solution of hydrogen peroxide (2 teaspoons per 200 ml of water) for 2-3 hours.
Stratification can be done in several ways.
- Place the seeds mixed with sand in the refrigerator for 1–2 months.
- In the fall, sow seeds in a pot, dig in on the site and cover, in March, move the container to the house.
- Keep the container with the sown seeds in the refrigerator until shoots appear.
Stratified seeds are sown in February or March. For planting, use a mixture of humus (2 parts) and coarse river sand(1 part). Before sowing the seeds, the soil is sieved, calcined in an oven at a temperature of 110–130 ° C, or watered with a bright pink solution of potassium permanganate. The treated soil is placed in a container with drainage holes and a drainage layer.
Seeds are scattered over the surface of the soil substrate, sprinkled with a layer of sand 3 mm thick, sprayed warm water, covered with glass or polyethylene. Crops are placed in a bright place with an air temperature of 15 to 22 ° C. Crops are periodically ventilated by lifting a film or glass.
Under normal storage conditions, the germination of lavender seeds does not decrease over the years.
Seedling care
The emerging seedlings need to be provided suitable conditions and care:
- additional lighting (so that the seedlings do not stretch out);
- temperature from 15 to 20 ° C;
- daily airing (glass or polyethylene is removed for a while so that the seedlings get used to the surrounding conditions);
- gentle, gentle watering;
- picking after the appearance of two leaves (seedlings are planted at a distance of 5-6 cm from each other);
- pinching seedlings when their height reaches 4–5 cm.
At the end of May, lavender is planted in a garden. Before planting, the roots are pruned a little. When planting, the root collar of the plant is deepened into the ground by 4–6 cm. After planting, lavender is watered abundantly.
When lavender is grown in regions with a hot, dry climate, seeds are sown in October directly into the ground to a depth of 3-4 cm. The ground surface is slightly compacted after planting. If the autumn is without rain, the crops are watered a little. When the first snow falls, they throw a small snowdrift over the area.
Lavender grown from seeds will bloom only after a year or two, when the bushes grow up and get stronger. After three years, the plant acquires maximum decorative effect, so growing lavender as an annual is not justified. An exception is the one-year hybrid variety "Normandy", derived from multi-cut lavender. The plant is characterized by rapid growth and blooms in the first year, but it is also suitable for the role of a container perennial. Sometimes, subject to the sowing rules, the strongest seedlings of other varieties also bloom in the first year.
Despite the complexity, seed propagation has two advantages:
- in plants, the adaptation period passes easier and faster;
- if you collect seeds from grown plants and plant them, the new generation of lavender will be more resistant to unfavorable climates (in the future, you can increase the resistance of any variety to low temperatures).
Purchase features
When growing lavender from seeds planting material acquire in the fall or early winter in order to complete the stratification by spring.
Also for planting you can purchase finished plant in specialized flower shops, greenhouses, winter gardens. Purchased lavender can be propagated immediately by cuttings in order to preserve the variety in case of unsuccessful wintering. And if the plant takes root and overwinters, in the future it can be propagated by layering.
But not all purchased plants take root. The reason for this may be the wrong choice of the variety, inappropriate growing conditions, or poor-quality planting material, the care of which did not meet the standards. Therefore, if possible, it is better to take healthy shrub cuttings from neighbors or relatives.
Lavender is easy to care for. In order for the plant to develop normally, it is enough to plant it in a sunny place, regularly water and huddle, remove weeds. Therefore, many flower growers are happy to arrange real lavender fields on their plots, delighting the owners. long flowering, and filling the garden with a delicate fragrance.