How to plant lavender: advice, care and harvesting

The lavender plant is perennial and can produce for more than a decade, its scientific name Lavandula angustifolia is native to the Mediterranean region is widely used in the manufacture of essential oils for the production of perfumes and toilet. There are many people interested in learning how to plant lavender because it is highly prized for use as an ornamental plant in gardens, with many varieties of lavender used for this purpose.

Lavender flowers are used as a food source for honeybees, since it is considered to honey produced with this plant as one of the best quality nectars. Flowers are also used to add flavor and aroma to a variety of dishes among which include sauces, salads, jellies, ice cream and a lesser amount in wine and vinegar, for this purpose they are also used the leaves.

There are many crops of lavender, however the most commonly used species Lavandula angustifolia is because it produces an essential oil of better quality. If the necessary care on how to plant lavender is applied can measure between 30 cm to 2 m in length, this depends very much on the species used. Its flowers are very small and may be purple, pink or white.

Tips on how to plant lavender correctly

Suitable climate

This plant will grow in a relatively dry climate, although this is quite tolerant to different temperatures, however is not able to develop properly in wet or cold weather. The cultivation of this plant needs directly, at least for a few hours a day of sunlight.

Land for growing lavender

One point to keep in accounts about growing lavender is to use a soil that is well drained, light and moderately fertile with a pH of between 6.5 and 7.5. The ideal type of soil is calcareous.

Proper watering for lavender plant

This plant is very sensitive to excess water, is for this reason that a tip on how to grow lavender, is to keep the soil slightly moist, this becomes of particular interest during the initial phase of growth. Once well developed, growing lavender resistant to drought and can be watered in smaller amounts.

Steps to cultivate lavender

The cultivation of lavender can be done by seeds or cuttings.

Seed planting is done on the surface, lightly pressing the seeds on the ground. Alternatively, it can be covered by a thin layer of sieved soil. Lavender seeds can be sown directly in the place where they grow or trays and pots, in the latter case, lavender transplantation is done when the seedlings are large enough to be manipulated. Germinated seeds reach usually between two to six weeks.

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All about how to plant lavender

The steps on how lavender plant by cuttings is: first you cut the stems to about 10 cm long; later remove the leaves that are at the bottom, which will be buried in the ground. The soil should be kept moist, because excess water can lead to the breakdown of the scion.

The space should be left between plants varies from 30 to 90 cm; this depends largely on the cultivar and growing conditions. In case you have a garden you can also keep the plant lavender in pots, for which you just have to find the pots with a diameter of 30 x 40 cm.

Care Lavender

You must remove those invasive plants as they compete for resources and nutrients. It should also periodically remove those branches that become woody old, to keep the healthy plant.

Lavender Harvest

Its flowers are harvested once opened, for which must be cut almost the entire branch. The leaves can be removed at any time; however they are not valued like flowers. Essential oils come to be extracted from freshly cut flowers.

This plant grows relatively slow, and although blooms the first year, the most abundant flowering begins in the second year of cultivation.