Lavender is one of the most rewarding garden plants. It's drought-tolerant, attractive to bees and butterflies, smells wonderful, and can be used in cooking, crafts, and aromatherapy. It's also one of the plants people most often kill with kindness.
The Right Conditions
Lavender is native to the Mediterranean. It evolved in poor, dry, stony soils with maximum sun. In rich, moist garden soil, it becomes lush and soft — and dies within a few years from root rot or cold.
Give lavender:
Planting
Plant in spring or early autumn. If planting in clay, mix grit or gravel into the planting hole. Plant at the same depth as it was in the pot — don't bury the crown.
Watering
Minimal. Once established, lavender rarely needs watering except in extreme drought. Overwatering is the primary cause of lavender death.
Pruning — the Critical Step
This is where most people go wrong. Lavender must be pruned annually or it becomes woody and stops flowering.
When: Late August/early September, after flowering. Or in early spring as new growth appears.
How: Cut back into the leafy growth, removing roughly one-third of the plant. Never cut back into old, bare wood — lavender won't regenerate from it.
Harvesting
Cut flower spikes just as they're opening for the best fragrance. Dry in bunches hung upside down in a cool, dark, airy place.
