Illustration by Desiree Connor
With lavender, as in life, it’s often the things you don’t do that make all the difference. “Lavender hates clay soil, high heat, humidity and fluctuating winter temperatures,” says Shaun Mercer. He knows all too well that what he has just described are the growing conditions in Central Virginia. But in spite of the apparent incompatibility between lavender and our local environment, he makes his living raising and selling the aromatic herb at Lavender Fields Herb Farm in Glen Allen. He’ll tell you that what lavender needs more than anything is nothing.
- “Lavender wants to be in that place in your yard where the soil is trashy and the sun bakes down, where it’s so dry that nothing else will grow,” Mercer explains. “Plant some of it in lots of different spots and see where it thrives. Then plant more there.”
- “Don’t plant lavender in a hole,” he warns. “Mound it up instead, to give it the best chance of drainage.” Or plant it in a pot that has plenty of drainage holes.
- Forget watering. Too much moisture can cause fungal disease and root rot. Mercer plants in May at Lavender Fields Farm and never waters again. “Ninety percent of our plants survive the summer untouched.”
- Forgo fertilizer. Highly fertile soil will promote leaf growth at the expense of bud production.
- Avoid mulch. Lavender likes a soil pH of 7.5; hardwood mulch will make soil overly acidic.
- Resist crowding. Space lavender plants sufficiently to allow for adequate air flow.
- Prune sparingly at first. Trim just the tips of each branch when planting seedlings, to stimulate new growth.
- Clip carefully. Reduce mature plants by approximately one-third of their height in subsequent years, just after their spring bloom.
- Forfeit beauty in your garden for the sake of flavor and fragrance. If you grow lavender for drying or culinary purposes, harvest at the peak of its display, when the bloom head shows all purple.
- Hang cut lavender spikes upside down in small bunches to dry. Protecting them from the sun will help preserve as much color as possible.
- Don’t overdo it. Those tiny purple petals pack a powerful punch. Whether you infuse ice cream, brew tea, bake cookies, garnish salads, stuff sachets or drop natural oil on dried stems as a natural diffuser, use lavender sparingly.
Mercer recommends growing French or English lavender in Central Virginia, due to their tolerance for moisture and humidity. French lavender (Lavandula stoechas) is a large, dense, bushy Mediterranean variety with fragrant dark purple flowers. Smaller English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is available in several cultivars, such as Munstead, an old-fashioned standard with blue-purple blossoms; Hidcote, with dark purple flowers; and Jean Davis, which blooms in pale pink spikes.
