How to Grow Lavender: Drainage, Sun, and Almost Nothing Else

Lavender is killed by generosity. Rich soil, regular water, a sheltered damp corner, a feed in spring — every one of those shortens its life.

It comes from dry, stony, sun-baked Mediterranean hillsides, and the closer you reproduce that, the longer it lives and the stronger it smells.

Choose the species for your winter first

This is the decision that determines whether the plant survives at all, and the labels are unhelpful — garden centres sell all of these simply as “lavender”.

Confusingly, L. stoechas is sold as both “French” and “Spanish” lavender depending on the country. Look for the ear-like bracts standing up on top of the flower head — those mean it is one of the tender ones, whatever the label says.

For a permanent hedge or a cold garden, English lavender or a lavandin. For a container that comes in over winter, the tender species flower for far longer.

Site and soil

• Full sun. Six hours minimum, more is better. This is not negotiable.
• Sharp drainage. The single most important condition.
• Poor soil. Lean, gritty, low in nutrients.
• Neutral to alkaline, roughly pH 6.7 to 7.3. Lavender is one of the few garden plants that genuinely appreciates lime.
• Air movement. Still, humid air causes fungal problems.

On heavy or clay soil, do one of these before planting: dig in sharp grit generously — a third by volume is not too much — plant on a raised mound six inches proud, use a raised bed, or grow it in pots.

Do not add compost or manure. Rich soil gives fast, soft, sappy growth with weaker fragrance and markedly worse winter survival. The oils that make lavender smell of lavender concentrate in plants grown hard.

Planting

Spring, once frost risk has passed, in most climates — autumn planting in mild ones.

• Plant slightly proud of the surrounding soil so water drains away from the crown.
• Space 2 to 3 feet apart for full-size varieties, 12 to 18 inches for a dwarf hedge. Crowding traps humid air and causes the rot that kills lavender in wet summers.
• Mulch with gravel or grit, never compost or bark. Organic mulch holds moisture against the stem, which is precisely what you are trying to avoid.

Water through the first summer to establish. After that, an established lavender in the ground needs watering only in prolonged drought.

Feeding

None. An established plant in reasonable ground needs nothing at all.

If a container plant is genuinely struggling, a single weak feed in spring is the most it should get. Nitrogen is what produces the floppy, sparse, poorly scented plant that then fails its first hard winter.

Pruning, which decides its lifespan

Lavender does not reliably reshoot from old bare wood. That single fact governs everything.

• Deadhead after the first flush of flowers.
• Cut back by about a third in late summer, six to eight weeks before the first frost, always leaving green growth on every stem.
• Start in year one. Even a young plant should be shaped.

A plant trimmed lightly for years develops a bare woody base that eventually splits open in the middle, and there is no recovering it — the only options are replacement or layering a side branch to start a new plant. Pruning lavender covers the cuts in detail.

In containers

The right choice on clay, in a wet climate, or for tender species.

• Terracotta, which breathes and dries the rootball out between waterings.
• Compost plus a third grit or perlite.
• Generous drainage holes, and never a saucer holding water.
• Water when the top two inches are dry — that might be weekly in high summer and monthly in winter.
• Overwinter tender species under cover, and keep them dry rather than warm. Cold and dry is survivable; cold and sodden is not.

Harvesting

Cut when the lower flowers on the spike have opened but the top ones have not — that is peak oil content. Morning, after dew has dried.

Cut long stems, bundle loosely, and hang upside down somewhere dark, dry and airy. Unlike most soft herbs, lavender dries superbly and holds its fragrance for a year or more.

Only L. angustifolia is worth using for cooking; the camphor content in lavandins and the tender species makes them harsh.