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Not only does lavender look pretty and smell nice, but it’s also surprisingly easy to grow. Learn how to plant lavender at home and you’ll get years of regrowth each spring.
Lavender attracts pollinating insects like butterflies and bees while repelling unwanted insects like fleas, flies, and mosquitoes.
This pretty plant adds vibrant purple color to your landscape. It’s also edible and can be used in drinks, baked goods, and bath care products.
Table of Contents
LAVENDER IS AN EASY PLANT TO GROW AND MAINTAIN
With so many uses for lavender, I’ll show you how easy it is to plant and maintain this hardy perennial plant.
Even if you only have a small amount of space, lavender can grow well in the ground or in pots.
I’ll cover how, where, and when to plant lavender. Then once you have it planted, how to care for it during the growing season and maintain it for future seasons.
Lastly, there are many uses for lavender in our everyday lives, so I’ll cover those as well. Make the most of this fragrant plant.
HOW TO PLANT LAVENDER
Buying plants from your local nursery to transplant into containers or the ground is the easiest way to plant lavender. It’s a bit harder to grow directly from seed.
Another option is to ask a neighbor or a friend for a cutting in the spring to propagate. Ask for a 3-4” stem and take off the leaves from the bottom 2” of your cutting.
PROPAGATING LAVENDER
To propagate lavender in water, you submerge the stem for a few weeks until roots form.
Make sure no leaves are in the water. To prevent bacteria from forming and harming the roots, change out the water every other day.
When the roots form, you can plant it in a 4” container with potting mix to allow the plant to establish stronger, larger roots.
PLANTING LAVENDER OUTSIDE
Lavender needs 2 to 3 feet of growing space horizontally and can get as high as 1 to 3 feet.
Once temperatures are above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, you can plant your transplants.
Lavender needs full sun so pick a space with at least 6-8 hours of sunlight minimum each day.
Adding mulch around the base of the plant can prevent weeds from forming around it.
PLANTING LAVENDER INSIDE
To allow for good drainage, mix 3 parts potting mix with 1 part clay and 1 part pumice.
The size of the container can be 12”, 14”, or even 16” large.
WHERE TO PLANT LAVENDER
Plant pretty much anywhere as lavender can grow in most soils.
For those with compacted or clay soil, add organic matter to help with drainage.
To avoid root rot, keep lavender away from super wet areas where water can pool.
WHEN TO PLANT LAVENDER
Plant lavender when it’s young in the spring when temperatures around above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
LAVENDER PLANT PRUNING
If you live in a warm climate, you can prune through the fall.
If you live in a cooler climate, prune the plants every spring when green leaves emerge from the base. Cut one-third off the top of the plant. This will prevent the lavender from becoming too leggy.
Don’t cut into the old wood.
During the winter, leave the foliage to protect the plant from the winter frost.
CARING FOR LAVENDER PLANT OUTDOORS
Lavender does not like overwatering or watering from above as this can cause fungal issues.
If you’ve just planted the lavender, water it once or twice per week until the plants are established. Mature plants only need watering every two to three weeks until buds appear, and once or twice a week until you harvest.
HOW TO HARVEST LAVENDER
- Harvest after flower buds form but before they open. You can do this again in late summer.
- Early morning harvests are best for capturing the most concentrated oils.
- Prune everything leaving 2 to 4 sets of leaves at the bottom of the stem.
- For the second cutting, cut two-thirds of the plant only.
LAVENDER PLANT CARE INDOOR
If you’re growing lavender in containers indoors, notice how much water it takes in. If lavender gets really big, you may want to re-pot into a larger container, so it gets enough water.
The other option is to trim the roots of the plant. Learn to root prune lavender here.
Make sure your plant gets enough sunlight indoors considering it needs 6-8 hours of sunlight outdoors.
HOW TO USE LAVENDER
Lavender can be ornamental or used in drinks and food.
SCENTED SACHET WITH LAVENDER
You can dry the lavender by tying a bunch together and hanging it upside down in a cool dark place. Once dried, the flowers will fall from the stems.
Take these and put them in little sachets to add lavender fragrance to bedrooms, under pillows, or your closets.
LAVENDER BOUQUETS
You can also display your lavender stalks in vases. They will stay fragrant and fresh for a long time. They look very nice throughout the home and displayed on a mantel.
ICE CUBES OF LAVENDER
Add lavender to ice cubes to preserve them and they can be used later in drinks or lemonade to add a nice visual touch.
LAVENDER BEVERAGES
After drying your lavender buds, you can make a hot tea with this recipe.
On a warm day, try this sweet lavender lemonade using fresh lavender flowers. It’s the perfect beverage to cool down your guests during a weekend brunch.
BAKING WITH LAVENDER
These delicate, fragrant, and pretty lavender cookies won’t last long after you pull them out of the oven.
Want a nice pastry to go with your tea? Try this moist lavender tea bread.
LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL
During times of stress, we may suffer from anxiety, migraine headaches, or find it difficult to relax. Lavender essential oils have many benefits. This aromatic plant can help rejuvenate and keep you feeling zen.
FINAL THOUGHTS HOW TO PLANT LAVENDER
Bees go absolutely crazy for lavender. It’s a great pollinator plant.
A word of caution though is not to get too close to lavender while bees are buzzing. My daughter and I were stung last year. Bees thought we were disturbing them but we were just bypassing them to get to the garden hose.
As you’ve read, it’s quite simple to plant and take care of this hardy perennial plant.
It regrows every season, making it very worthwhile to plant and be a good use of your time.
Considering all the uses of this plant, it’s a no brainer to have a potted lavender plant indoors or outdoors.
Have you planted lavender before and found some great uses for it with your harvest? Share in the comments below!
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