Lavender plants

I'd leave it a while until April.

Make sure to choose bushy plants, we were sold what we were told were Hidcote, small and bushy, but they're not Hidcote and they straggle all across the path.

Yes, but which Lavender???
Or different varieties?
Some are more compact and vivid.
But they'd be ok planted now I think.

I find English lavender makes a tidier plant. The French lavender is lovely but does seem to " explode" a bit, if you are wanting a hedge.

French Lavender's less hardy too, I seem to remember. I think they'd be OK planted now if you're using english lavender, especially if they're in a fairly large trough with plenty of soil between them & the frosty air so their roots stay relatively frost-free.

Compared to some perennials they are slow-growing at first so really little plants mayn't fill out to fill their planters the first summer.

If you’ve got a greenhouse or a coldframe it would be good to buy them now and grow them on yourself, but don’t plant outside until April. French lavender isn’t as hardy as English lavender.

I wouldn’t plant them now as the soil is too cold. As soon as the soil warms up you can plant them. I did this last Spring with small 9cm pots but it’s taken a year for them to fill out. Still much cheaper. I got mine from the Somerset Lavender farm who had loads of varieties to choose from.

Lavender should not be planted before May, regardless of size and type. You will find it impossible to buy plants from any reputable supplier before that month.

Look at the site of a couple of good suppliers and check out the ones you want. Lavender comes in a variety of colours and a variety of height and spreads for 1 ft by 1ft to 3ft by 3ft..

Thank you for your replies. I was thinking of hidcote but definitely English. I do have a greenhouse (unheated) that they could go in. The plants I’ve seen are in 9cm pots and on sale from the well known plant/seed companies like Thompson, Crocus etc. I’ve had good plants from them before…but equally some that aren’t so good. I’m eager to get them established in the troughs ….but maybe too eager!

Forgot to add I’m on the south coast and have a big but sheltered garden, if that makes any difference. Still undecided….

You could plant up the troughs in your greenhouse*Stillness*, what they don’t like is very wet soil. You can definitely put them outside in April though, because it’s the soil temperature that matters. I propagate mine from cuttings, which is easy to do.
Here’s the RHS guidance, which might be helpful for you.
www.rhs.org.uk/plants/lavender/growing-guide

Tbh I wouldn’t bother to buy them now. You may as well wait until April/May or you will be double handling. You will find more varieties at a lavender farm and they will be stronger than T&M who own a conglomerate of online garden companies such as Dobies and Suttons which is why all the prices are the same.

I’d also wait until the local nurseries get their new stock. The independently owned nurseries around here often have offers on multiple buys.

Thanks again and yes I’ve decided to wait another month or so and see what is in the local nurseries. My enthusiasm has got the better of me and I don’t think they’ll grow much in the coming weeks anyway ……

I start planting after the last of the frosts otherwise the ground is far too hard .
I had a wonderful lavender hedge in troughs .
One died during a dry spell and the remaining ones started to look old and woody , despite careful and regular pruning .
I've replaced the soil and the plants with fresh lavender plants .
I have to be realistic - after five years , if not before my hedge will probably need replacing .

I don't advise buying lavender plants from anywhere except a specialised Lavender nursery.
I've bought some of these bargains before .
They've failed .
Replacements have been sent only to fail again .

Yes, I think ours will need replacing this year Esmay
There's only so long they can be pruned before they start to look woody and get brittle.

It’s really easy to propagate from cuttings from your existing plants, if you’re that way inclined.

I have 5 plants (ought to re-pot really) in the greenhouse waiting to be planted up against a south facing wall. They won’t go in until April or May.

Casdon

It’s really easy to propagate from cuttings from your existing plants, if you’re that way inclined.

Mine seed themselves in cracks and sometimes I've successfully grown good plants from these self-setters.

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Lavender, -lovely choice! I think it's one of my favourites.

Slightly different season and timescale, but as an example, I bought new tiny Hidcote plants at the end of July and put them straight in. (It was a new bed.) They grew and flowered, albeit thinly, in the September.
The following year they were in massive bloom.
So, my inclination would be to hold off until later, and even then not to buy the largest, but to nuture smaller ones for the long term.

It’s best not to plant lavender outside or to prune until all possibility of frost has passed. My cuttings have done well in an unheated greenhouse and I will bring them outside in their pots once there is no frost forecast.
Try Munstead for a beautiful English Lavender that looks good in the winter too, especially when properly pruned into a tight dome. This is a photo of some of my French (butterfly) lavender taken today.

Lavender is the one flower scent that makes me heave, but admit they look very good.A near neighbour just has a row of substantial lavenders in her small terraced front garden and it looks great.I once asked her how she kept them looking so good and she said it was neglect and they thrive on it😲

If you need to buy lavender (or other shrubs or plants) online I can highly recommend Ashridge Nurseries. They are not cheap, but extremely reliable. I bought some lavender from them last year to replace some old plants which had died. They stock a good selection of varieties.

If you are wanting a lot for a hedge fund Lidl. Usually sell lavender in trays of six and I have not been disappointed on several years. Still going strong. The French lavender has suffered this winter