You’re in luck if you’ve ever wanted to use lavender’s calming perfume and beautiful flowers for aromatherapy in your garden. Although it can be scary, growing this popular plant from lavender seeds is incredibly gratifying. From choosing the ideal kind to gathering your fragrant flowers, this guide will walk you through every step of the process. With these easy steps, you’ll be able to plant English lavender seeds and reap its beauty — and benefits! — for years to come.
Understanding Lavender Varieties
lavender seeds are an easy way to grow this fragrant herb in your home garden, but before you simply throw them in the ground or plant them indoors, it’s useful to figure out what type of lavender you’d like to grow. Various types have distinct smells, sizes, and care needs. Here are some of the popular choices:
English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): The most popular type, it is sweet and classic. It is a popular ingredient in cooking recipes and in essential oils. ‘Goodwin’s Creeping Thymus cultivars ‘Munstead’ and ‘Hidcote’ are great for new gardeners.
(If you’re familiar with the tooth-edged leaves and lighter scent, this is lavender dentata.) It has a long flowering season but is less cold-hardy than its English cousin.
Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas): Known for its distinctive, pineapple-shaped flower heads featuring a tuft of larger bracts or “bunny ears”. It’s got a pungent scent like eucalyptus and grows well in hot, arid environments.
Gathering Your Materials
Here are the supply basics to get started. Once you are prepared, any effort you might expend planting should be pretty easy and pleasant.
lavender seeds: Use high-quality seeds procured from a reliable vendor. Lavender seeds for planting are available at local garden centers or online. Seeds of English lavender are usually the most straightforward for beginners to germinate.
Best Soil for Starting Seeds: You want to plant your seeds in a lightweight seed starting mix that is also well-draining. Steer clear of heavy garden soil, which may retain too much moisture and cause rot.
Containers: Small pots, seed trays, or peat pots are ideal. Make sure they have drainage holes on the bottom to avoid waterlogging.
Grow Lights (Optional) Not essential, but grow lights can help provide consistent light and warmth, which is especially useful if you don’t have a sunny windowsill.
Spray Bottle: A spray bottle is beneficial for lightly misting your seeds without knocking them out of place.
How to Grow Lavender Seeds – A Step-by-Step Guide
Be patient growing lavender seeds, as germination can be slow and uneven. Prepare your seeds in the manner described here, and they will have the best chance for success.
Step 1: Cold Stratification
Many lavender types, in particular English lavender, appreciate cold stratification. This simulates winter and breaks seed dormancy.
To start, put your lavender seeds in a small plastic bag with one tablespoon of moist sand or a wet paper towel. Seal the bag and place it in the refrigerator for 30 to 40 days. This is a vital part of the process to increase lavender seed germination.
Step 2: Sowing the Seeds
My lavender seeds are stratified; now it’s time to plant them. Sprinkle the seed-starting mix into your containers, but leave about half an inch of space at the top. Lightly spray the soil with your spray bottle.
Sow 2-3 lavender seeds on the surface of the soil in each pot. Gently sprinkle them with a dusting of soil or vermiculite — they like to be in some light while germinating. One of the most common errors found when first-time gardeners sow sweet corn is to plant the seeds too deeply.
Step 3: Heat and light. It is nice to have warm surroundings.
Position your pots in a warm, sunny spot where they will receive at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. A south-facing windowsill is ideal. If you’re using grow lights, place them a few inches above your containers and let them stay on 12-16 hours a day.
Keep at a steady temperature of 65-75°F (18-24°C). You may want to use a heat mat to warm the bottom, which can hasten germination.
Step 4: Watering and Waiting
Soil: Keep soil regularly moist, but not soggy. Cool the lavender seeds down and spray with a spray bottle. The germination of lavender seeds may take anywhere from two weeks to a month, so wait and avoid rushing the process. Small green sprouts should appear through the soil within days.
Caring for Lavender Seedlings
To develop into sturdy plants, your lavender seedlings require vigilant care after they have sprouted.
Thinning: Once several seedlings sprout in a pot, thin them out so only the strongest one remains. Trim the weaker of the two plants at ground level to avoid disturbing roots in the soil. Hedge clippers will also do the job quickly.
Water: Water the seedlings when the first inch of topsoil feels dry to the touch. Water at the foot of the plant to prevent wet leaves and resultant fungal diseases.
Light: Keep them in plenty of light. The seedlings will begin to look long and leggy if they are not receiving enough light.
Transplanting Lavender Seedlings
As long as they are 2-3 inches high and well rooted, with at least a set or two of true leaves, the lavender seedlings can then be potted up to grow on in larger pots, or planted out into the garden. Plant them outdoors after the last frost date for your region.
Choose a spot of sunlight in your garden that has well-draining, slightly alkaline soil. It doesn’t like “wet feet,” and if you have heavy clay soil, work in sand or gravel (or better yet, both) first.
Dig a hole double the size of the seedling root ball. Carefully lift the seedling from a pot or planted tray and lower it into the hole. Fill around the plant with soil. Water thoroughly after transplanting. Plant space 12-18 inches apart to ensure proper air flow.
Ongoing Lavender Plant Care
Once they’re established, though, lavenders are pretty easy-care plants.
Watering: Newly transplanted lavender should be watered regularly for the first few weeks. Once established, it is quite drought-tolerant and only requires water during prolonged dry spells.
Pruning: Prune your lavender every year in the spring or after the first flowering. Prune back approximately one-third of the growth to promote a bushy form and discourage a woody plant.
Fertilizing: Normally, lavender doesn’t need fertilization. Very much nitrogen can cause more foliage and fewer blooms.
Harvesting and Using Your Lavender
The most rewarding aspect of growing lavender is the beautiful, fragrant blooms. Harvest the flower stalks in the morning when oils are most potent. There are so many things you can do with your homegrown lavender:
Dry the blossoms: Bundle stems together in a bundle and hang them upside down in a cool, dark, well-ventilated spot.
Homemade crafts: Try dried lavender in sachets for freshening up drawers or thank-whomever gifts, or make gorgeous wreaths.
Cooking with lavender: One of my favorite uses is to make lavender-scented sugar. Just drop a few lavender sprigs in a jar of sugar and let it sit for a week. It prettily flavors cookies, cakes, and tea.
Embrace the Lavender Journey
Growing lavender from seed is a lesson in patience, yielding beautiful, fragrant blooms as well as a sense of accomplishment. From that initial, tiny sprout to a garden full of purple flowers, it draws you close to nature in a way few things do. So there you have it, all the information on how to plant lavender seeds and care for them – now go out there and create your own fragrant journey.
