Collection: Lavender Plants

Lavender is best planted in spring or early autumn, when the soil is warm and moist but the temperatures are mild and the plant can establish itself before having to deal with any extreme temperatures.

You’ll get the best flowers and fragrance from your lavender plants if they’re in a position with full sun (6-8 hours per day of direct sunlight). They’ll also thrive in a place with a little afternoon shade. Any well draining soil is fine, but avoid heavy clay or waterlogged areas. Check out these lavender planting ideas for more inspiration.

Plant your lavenders around 30-45cm apart to allow space to spread out and allow air to circulate between the plants.

Lavender is drought-tolerant once it’s established and prefers dry to moderately moist soil. Water your lavender regularly when it’s newly planted, but once it's established you can reduce this. It won’t need watering at all throughout autumn and winter.

Lavender doesn’t really need feeding, and in fact if it gets too much nitrogen it can make the plants leggy and reduce flowering, so should be avoided.

You can leave your lavenders to grow wild and free, or prune them to maintain a neat shape for a more formal look. Pruning should be done in early spring, cutting back about a third of the plant’s height. You can also prune it lightly after the flowers have finished, which can encourage a second flush of blooming.

Lavender is fully hardy in the UK climate, so established plants won’t need any winter protection. Young plants, however, will benefit from a layer of mulch such as straw or bark chips, applied in autumn to insulate the roots throughout the winter.

Lavender is fantastic in pots - make sure your containers have good drainage holes, position them in a sunny spot (a patio or doorstep is good) and water sparingly, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings.

Lavender can be propagated from cuttings taken in late spring or early summer. Snip off stems about 15-20cm long, remove the lower leaves and dip the cutting in rootgrow before potting them up. Keep them in a warm place but away from strong sunlight until the roots develop.