It is cold hardy to Zone 6 and flowers in mid-summer. Its tall blooms make it a good candidate for lavender wands.

* Goodwin Creek Lavender is a hybrid of French Lavender with a shorter growth habit and a darker purple flower head. French Lavenders are grown more as ornamental plants (the scent is reminiscent of camphor) and grow to 36” tall and 60” wide. Flower heads are large and blocky, blooming all summer and fall. It is a large, fast growing shrub which does best kept at about 3’. 24” to 32” tall and wide, Zone 5-8.įrench Hybrid Lavender ( Lavandula intermedia) has the more traditional gray leaves of Lavender, but with serrated edges. It’s sweet fragrance, silver foliage and purple-blue spikes make this a “phenomenal” lavender to grow in Central Texas! It blooms from early to mid-summer and is used for ornamental and edible purposes. It tolerates humidity and is cold hardy to -10☏. It is long-blooming and grows 24” to 32” tall and wide. * Phenomenal is an English lavender hybrid that grows well throughout the south. Although it is excellent for making Lavender Wands, it makes a poor cut flower. Flowers are light lavender-blue on long, thin stems. * Provence Lavender is one of the most fragrant of the Lavandins, and is grown commercially for its oil. The calyxes are a deep purple instead of the normal green and keeps its color when dried. Its long stems make wonderful bouquets and wands. * Grosso, one of the Lavandins, is a good oil producer and is widely grown for the cosmetic industry. They also smell incredible, and are widely planted in the Provence region of France where they are grown for perfumes. They bloom steadily and abundantly, and are medium-growers with light purple flowers borne on long stems. latifolia, and tend to be taller than the English varieties. It is a “twice-bloomer” and will bloom in late spring/early summer, then again in September when prompt deadheading after the spring flush of flowers is done.Įnglish Hybrid Lavender ( Lavandula x intermedia), sometimes referred to as Lavandins, bloom just as the English Lavenders are finishing in early summer, and continue to bloom to mid-summer. * Vera Lavender is an heirloom variety that is cold hardy to -20☏ (Zone 5a). It grows to 2’ tall and 30” wide and is hardy in Zones 5-8. It does not grow quite as well in hot climates as the Munstead. * Hidcote Lavender has a dark purple flower with silvery foliage and blooms from late spring to summer. It grows to 18” tall and 24” wide and is hardy in Zones 5-8. It has compact silver foliage with violet-purple flowers mid- to late spring. * Munstead Lavender tolerates the heat the best of English Lavenders.

They do not tolerate wet or heavy clay soils. They are the most common variety used in baking. English Lavender doesn’t mind humidity and winter moisture as much as other lavenders, and has a soft, sweet fragrance.

They are called English Lavender because they are the variety that grows best in England’s climate (and in Central Texas, too)! They are quite cold-hardy and bloom in late spring/early summer in Central Texas. There are four primary species of Lavender:Įnglish Lavenders ( Lavandula angustifolia) are actually from the Mediterranean. Lavender is drought resistant once established, and to many people’s delight, they are DEER RESISTANT TOO! Humidity, poor drainage and heavy soils are the arch enemies of Lavender. If you have well-drained soil and a sunny exposure, you should be able to grow Lavender with ease. Which one should you plant? What conditions do they require? We are fortunate to have a relatively non-hostile environment for growing Lavender in Central Texas. As you may have guessed, Lavender is a plant that mystifies many people.

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