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LAVENDER GUIDES

lavender shrub with purple flowers and tall foliage

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A favourite with many gardener , it ’s easy to see why lavender , with its beautiful appearing and delightful scent , is such a popular flower and herb to grow .

However , pick out a lavender is not always as straightforward as it may at first appear , since there are a number of different type , species and cultivar to choose from .

‘folgate’ lavender with tall spires of purple flowers covering a large area

‘Folgate’

If you are choosing a lavender shrub to acquire , the first thing to understand is that some lavender is hardier and better suited to UK conditions than other lavender .

In addition to daring , you might also require to call up about other specifics , such as bloom of youth , people of colour , show and fragrance .

Expert Chosen Varieties

We spoke with some of our lavender expert about their favourite lavenders to grow .

“ ‘ Folgate ’ is my preferent , ” shares Charlie Byrd from Cotswold Lavender .

“ It ’s the first sort we grew and is magnificent .

Lavender ‘Edelweiss’ with tall stems doting creamy white flowers

‘Edelweiss’

“ It ’s easy to grow and early unfolding with an upright development use and in the summer evenings , it almost radiate . ”

“ With hundreds of varieties , there are so many to pick out from include white , pink and , of course , purple flower varieties , ” explains Nick & Lyndsay Butler , owners of Lavender Fields .

“ It is exciting when you are constantly study and discovering new variety every year , but there really are too many to choose from !

a field of white flowering lavender ‘rosea’ flowers

‘Rosea’

“ We eff to grow lavenders that are less common and a band of people that visit us are amazed to find out there is more than one variety . ”

“ One of our favourite is a variety called ‘ Edelweiss ’ , ” they share .

“ This is an intermedia kind and is probably the most powerfully perfumed lavender we have ever fare across .

close-up of the tiny purple blooms adorning the thin green stems of an l. angustifolia ‘hidcote’ plant

“ It is white flowering and develop up to 1 m.

“ In terms of a purple variety , it would have to be ‘ Havanna ’ , which is much like ‘ Hidcote ’ but slightly littler .

“ It is possibly one of the deepest purple lavender you will retrieve but has a much larger flowering foreland than ‘ Hidcote ’ .

a couple of tall stems from an ‘imperial gem’ lavender variety with tiny purple flowers

“ Finally , if we were to pick a pink unfolding variety , it would be ‘ Rosea ’ , which is eff for providing beautiful creamy pinkish flowers and is something very different to the norm . ”

To facilitate you ruminate over your option further , here are some of my favourite Lavender varieties to mature :

1)L. angustifolia‘Beechwood Blue’

This is an English lavender , and therefore H5 hardy .

Along with all the other Lavandula listed below , it will flourish in full sun , in a sheltered spot with liberal - drain territory .

This cultivar grows to around 45 cm in height and boasts an abundance of purple - grim flush in the summer months .

rows of L. angustifolia ‘Miss Katherine’ plants

2)L. angustifolia‘Hidcote’

‘ Hidcote ’ is another English lavender and it is one of the most popular varieties to spring up in the UK .

This minor evergreen plant shrub has narrow , silvern leaf and little blossom in a deep purple - purple hue that have a strong fragrance .

These are borne in spikes that mature around 3 - 4 curium in length .

upright stems with green flower buds on an L. angustifolia ‘Nana Alba’, some of which have opened to reveal white flowers

3)L.angustifolia‘Imperial Gem’

With slightly sick purple efflorescence , this English lavender also bears its fragrant prime in the summertime months .

“ Lavandula‘Imperial Gem ’ is one of my preferent Lavender cultivar , ” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly .

“ It is compendious and its root word are in unspoilt proportion to its overall sizing , making it everlasting for border paths . :

L. x chaytoriae ‘Richard Gray’ shrub with silvery-green foliage and purple flowers atop tall stems

Like the above options , it is H5 stalwart , so can endure winter in many a garden in the British Isles .

4)Lavandulaangustifolia‘Batlad’

This lovely English lavender bears pale tomid - lilac - coloured prime each summer .

shaggy-coated and heavyset , as you would expect an English lavender to be , it also likes full sunlight and a sheltered smirch and , as with all of the above , it is H5 dauntless .

5)Lavandulaangustifolia‘Clarmo’

A dwarf lavender which will grow no marvellous than around 30 atomic number 96 gamey , this selection has pinkish - purple flowers above its greenish - grey leaf .

Since it is compact in size , this can be a good choice for pots , for the front of a border , or for neat low hedging .

Again , this is an English lavender which is H5 brave .

rows of commercially grown L. x chaytoriae ‘Sawyers’ lavender with dark purple blooms

6)L. angustifolia‘Miss Katherine’

A taller lavender spring up to around 75 atomic number 96 tall , this option has flower that are fragrant , with a light pink hue that sets them apart from many of the gamey and purple option on this list .

Again , this English lavender is H5 unfearing and take a sheltered spot in full sunlight with well - drain soil .

7)Lavandulaangustifolia‘Scholmis’

This is another compact dwarf lavender that is well suited to utilise at the front of a bed or border , in low hedging , bed butt or in pots .

It will tend to grow to around 30 cm marvelous , hold its violet - purple bloom in the mid and late summer .

This lavender is also H5 sturdy .

close-up of the flowering heads from an L. x intermedia ‘Alba’ plant

8)L. angustifolia‘Nana Alba’

A lavender variety that digest out for the coloration of the blooming , this cultivar of English lavender has pure clean flowers .

This is another compact form that will typically grow to a height of only around 30 cm .

The whitened prime look great above the narrow greyish - green leaves when they blossom in the late summertime .

large growing lavender ‘sussex’ shrubs

Again , this lavender is a hardy selection .

9)L.xchaytoriae‘Richard Gray’

This intercrossed Lavandula is a little less hardy than the English lavender assortment lean above .

However , it is still moderately hardy , with an RHS hardiness rating of H4 .

It grow to around 50 cm tall and has spikes of cryptical imperial flowers .

white flowers on tall stems of L. ‘Ballerina’

10)L.xchaytoriae‘Sawyers’

Another intercrossed type of Lavender , this Lavandula has peak of a slimly lighter hue than the above and grows just a little taller , with stem typically reaching around 60 cm in length .

The flowers are carry in the mid - summertime .

This option is also H4 hardy , meaning that , while not as stout as English lavender types , it is still stalwart enough to come through during wintertime across most of the UK .

potted lavandula shrub of the variety ‘willow vale’ that has been pruned into a globular shape with pink flowers

11)L.dentatavar.dentata‘Royal Crown’

This is what is unremarkably known as a French lavender .

It is more fond than any of the options cite thus far , with a H3 hardiness rating .

This mean that , in all but the most sheltered or coastal gardens in the UK , it will need some winter protection .

However , it has dandy drought electric resistance , so could be a good alternative for dry , southern area .

It will grow around 60 centimeter marvellous and has small purple flowering spike topped by large paler purple bract .

12)L.‘Goodwin Creek Grey’

A hybrid Lavandula , this option grows into a bush just shy of 1 m high , typically around 90 cm .

It has silvery green leaves and flowering stems up to around 30 cm long which are exceed by spike heel of dark-skinned violet - puritanic flower around 10 - 14 cm in length .

The flowers blossom in June 21 and sometimes bloom at other clock time too in a mild mood .

It is H4 hardy .

13)L.xintermedia‘Alba’

This is another white - flowered lavender .

It is an evergreen intercrossed type that grows to 1 metre or more in height .

Again , thewhite prime are a little differentto the many spook of purpleness on offer and reckon endearing against the grey - immature parting of the plants .

Sometimes also referred to as ‘ Dutch white ’ this variety is H5 dauntless .

14)L.xintermedia‘Hidcote Giant’

Also grow to around 1 m tall , this Lavandula has minute greyish - greenish foliage and bears long - stemmed spike of purplish - blue prime in summer .

Again , this alternative is H5 hardy and is typically not a lavender that you will have to worry about too much over the winter calendar month as long as the drainage is sufficient .

15)L.xintermedia‘Sussex’

Also sometimes called ‘ Arabian Night ’ this variety is another hybrid lavender .

It forms a bush around 75 cm in height and , in the mid and late summertime , hold beautiful flower spikes of a dark blue - purpleness hue .

Again , this cultivar is H5 hardy .

16)L.pedunculatasubsp.pedunculata

This is a ‘ French ’ lavender that is also know as butterfly stroke lavender to some .

It is a bushy evergreen plant bush with silvery green leaf and small purple - purple flowers in oval - shaped heads with large purple bracts at the top of each head .

Note that this is a more raw eccentric , which will need some wintertime aegis in all but the mild and most sheltered of southern and coastal garden .

It is H3 hardy .

17)L.‘Ballerina’

This is a hybrid French lavender that was premise from New Zealand .

It has an upright growth habit , silver light-green foliage and purple flowers bear on stem in dense spire , with blatant bracts at the top which are lily-white that turn more purple with years .

Though this is a hardy industrial plant , it will need a sheltered billet in full sun .

When cater with the good growing experimental condition , it can bloom over a long period from recent give right through the summertime months .

18)L.stoechas‘Pretty Polly’

This attractive French lavender grows to around 45 cm improbable .

It has flowers that are a deep purple and the heads , which flower between other summer and early autumn , are exceed by lily-white bract with a dark-green stock down the midriff of them .

This alternative is H4 hardy and , like otherLavandula stoechas , it has very good drought electrical resistance .

19)L.‘Willow Vale’

This French lavender grows to around 75 centimetre in summit .

It has xanthous - greenish leaves and vertical halt that bear slow clusters of deep reddish blue flowers , above which very notable reddish - over-embellished bract bear out .

This is an choice for milder and warmer gardens and will often demand protection in winter in the UK as it is only H3 hardy .

20)L. stoechassubsp.stoechasf.rosea‘Kew Red’

Last but not least , this unusual French lavender kind differs from many others in the coloring of its blooms and bracts .

Theshrubs grow around 50 atomic number 96 talland bear on them deep pink to ruby-red flowers with mysterious purple calyces below pale pink bract .

This is another lavender that needs a sheltered post out of the farting and as warm and soft a position as potential , though it is still H4 hardy .

Of course , this inclination by no means exhausts the number of lavenders that you could potentially rise .

You might also consider many other mixture , especially if you bring industrial plant indoors over the winter month because , if you do , you may also consider some other more tender lavender varieties .

However , I would argue that these options are among the good for growing in UK gardens .