Overview

Transform your outdoor living space with the enchanting beauty and soothing fragrance of the Spanish lavender live plant. This offering includes two vibrant live plants, ready to thrive in your garden. Known for its distinctive dark purple, pinecone-shaped flower heads topped with delicate, flag-like bracts, Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) is a beloved choice for gardeners seeking both visual appeal and aromatic charm. Unlike some other lavender varieties, Spanish lavender often boasts a more robust bloom period, providing continuous color and fragrance from late spring through summer. These hardy fragrant herb plants are incredibly resilient, adapting well to various growing conditions once established. They are perfect for creating sensory gardens, attracting beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies, or simply adding a touch of Mediterranean elegance to your landscape. Each plant is carefully nurtured to ensure it arrives healthy and ready to flourish, promising years of beautiful blooms and a delightful aroma.

Key Benefits

Adding Spanish lavender live plant to your garden offers a multitude of advantages, making it a highly rewarding choice for both novice and experienced gardeners. Its striking appearance and versatility ensure it stands out in any setting:

• Distinctive Beauty: Features unique, deep purple, pinecone-like flower heads crowned with airy bracts, providing a striking visual appeal that differs from other lavender types. This makes them excellent focal points or border plants.
• Captivating Fragrance: Emits a strong, aromatic scent that is both relaxing and invigorating, perfect for creating a calming atmosphere in your garden or patio. The fragrance is particularly noticeable on warm days.
• Attracts Pollinators: The abundant blooms are a magnet for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators, contributing to the health and biodiversity of your garden ecosystem. This supports local wildlife and improves fruit and vegetable yields nearby.
• Drought Tolerant: Once established, these hardy fragrant herb plants are remarkably water-wise, requiring minimal irrigation. This makes them an ideal choice for xeriscaping or gardens in drier climates, saving water and effort.
• Low Maintenance: Known for being a low-maintenance lavender, it thrives with minimal intervention, making it suitable for beginner gardeners or those with busy schedules. It requires little more than occasional pruning and proper initial planting.
• Versatile Landscaping: Excellent for rock gardens, borders, mass plantings, herb gardens, or container planting. Its compact to medium size allows it to fit into various garden designs seamlessly.
• Repels Pests: The strong scent of lavender is known to naturally deter common garden pests such as deer, rabbits, and mosquitoes, protecting nearby plants without chemical intervention.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Spanish lavender live plant is relatively straightforward, as these plants are known for their resilience and adaptability. To ensure your plants thrive and produce abundant blooms, understanding their basic needs is key. Proper care will lead to a lush, aromatic garden addition that returns year after year.

Sunlight Requirements: Spanish lavender absolutely loves the sun. It requires at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day to flourish and produce its characteristic vibrant blooms. Plant your lavender flower plant in a location that receives full sun exposure throughout the day. In areas with extremely hot summers, some afternoon shade can be beneficial to prevent scorching, but generally, more sun equals more flowers and better fragrance. Avoid planting in shady spots, as this will lead to leggy growth and sparse flowering.

Watering and Soil: These plants are native to the Mediterranean region, meaning they prefer well-draining soil and are quite drought-tolerant once established. Water regularly after planting to help establish the root system, but once mature, allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings. Overwatering is the most common cause of problems for lavender, leading to root rot. The ideal soil type is a sandy or gravelly loam with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH. Good drainage is paramount; if your soil is heavy clay, amend it with grit, sand, or compost to improve drainage before planting. Fertilization is rarely needed for a hardy fragrant herb like lavender; rich soil can actually lead to less fragrant foliage and fewer flowers. If growth seems slow, a light application of a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in spring can be considered.

Temperature and Pruning: Spanish lavender is generally hardy in USDA Zones 8-10, though some varieties can tolerate Zone 7 with winter protection. It prefers warm, dry conditions and can tolerate heat well. Pruning is essential for maintaining a compact shape, encouraging new growth, and promoting prolific blooming. Prune your lavender flower plant after the first flush of flowers in late spring or early summer, removing spent flower stalks and shaping the plant. A second light prune can be done in late summer if new blooms appear. Avoid heavy pruning into old, woody stems, as this can shock the plant. Regular deadheading will also encourage more blooms throughout the season. For established plants, a more significant pruning can be done in early spring, removing about one-third of the plant’s size to encourage vigorous new growth for the coming season.

Size & Details

This offering includes two robust Spanish lavender live plant specimens, each carefully grown to ensure a healthy start in your garden. Upon arrival, the plants will typically measure between 5 to 7 inches in height, providing a substantial foundation for rapid growth. Spanish lavender is known for its moderate growth rate, and under optimal conditions, these plants will quickly establish themselves. They are expected to produce abundant blooms in their very first growing season, bringing immediate color and fragrance to your landscape. When mature, these hardy fragrant herb plants will typically reach a size of 2 to 3 feet in both height and spread, forming attractive, mounded shrubs. They are shipped in their nursery pots, ensuring their root systems are protected and intact, ready for transplanting into your garden beds or larger containers. Expect a generous display of purple flowers from late spring through summer, offering a long season of enjoyment.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big do these Spanish lavender plants get? A: Your Spanish lavender live plant will typically arrive at 5 to 7 inches tall. When mature, these plants usually reach a height and spread of 2 to 3 feet, forming a beautiful, mounded habit in your garden.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: Spanish lavender is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in full sun and well-draining soil. While it can be temporarily grown indoors in a very sunny spot, it performs best in an outdoor garden environment.
• Q: How much sunlight does my lavender need? A: For optimal growth and prolific flowering, your lavender flower plant requires at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. Choose a sunny location in your garden where it won’t be shaded by other plants or structures.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? Is it good for beginners? A: Yes, Spanish lavender is considered a low-maintenance lavender. Once established, it is drought-tolerant and requires minimal care, making it an excellent choice for beginner gardeners.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? Is it shipped in soil? A: Your Spanish lavender live plant will arrive healthy and well-packaged, typically in its nursery pot with soil, ensuring its root system is protected during transit and ready for planting.
• Q: How long until it blooms? When is the best time to plant? A: These plants are expected to produce abundant blooms in their first growing season after planting. The best time to plant is in spring after the last frost, or in early fall in milder climates, to allow roots to establish before extreme temperatures.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? What’s the minimum temperature? A: Spanish lavender is generally hardy in USDA Zones 8-10. It can tolerate temperatures down to about 10-20°F (-12 to -6°C). In colder zones, you may need to provide winter protection or grow it in containers that can be moved indoors.
• Q: Can I use this lavender for culinary purposes? A: While many lavender varieties are used culinarily, Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) is primarily grown for its ornamental beauty and strong fragrance. Its flavor is generally considered too strong and camphor-like for most culinary applications.
• Q: Does this plant attract bees and butterflies? A: Absolutely! The vibrant blooms of the lavender flower plant are a favorite of bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators, making it an excellent addition to any pollinator garden.
• Q: What kind of soil does Spanish lavender prefer? A: This hardy fragrant herb prefers well-draining soil, ideally a sandy or gravelly loam with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH. Good drainage is crucial to prevent root rot.