All you Need to Know about Growing Lavender

how you doing guys it's alessandra here with a spicy moustache with some new tips in order to help you create in your own green area indoor outdoor following the principle of two as nature does there are many different plants that i grow in my garden and they all remind me of different seasons of the year it's hard to imagine a plant that it's more evocative of summer than lavender with its intensity of color and scent as a bonus one of its many benefits is to act as natural pest control and keep away pests from your garden in an organic way so dig up the like bastard and today i'll show you all you need to know for growing and caring for lavender plants i'm in a lovely place today surrounded by this beautiful plant emitting a really intense fragrance that i wish i could share in this video you might hear a few bees flying by the microphone while we talk about this amazing plant the first thing that you need to do before planting lavender is to identify the variety that you like to plant there are many kinds of different varieties but they all fall into the broader group of either french english or spanish the first one is lavando angustifolia it's an english lavender that includes moonstead and hincoat this plant is more tolerant of cool winters and high humidity this is the one that has the most powerful and medicinal properties the second most common variety is lavandis which is a cross between lavender and spike lavender lavendins are considered french lavender a few varieties include grosso province and phenomenal they either don't produce seeds or their seeds are sterile so they need to be grown from cuttings they're great for cleaning products and for aromatic purposes and their high content in comfort could be helpful with sinus please be careful though because lavending species shouldn't be used in the first trimester of pregnancy or if you suffer from epilepsy another cool thing about lavender is that it's really great for pest control due to the high content of linalool which is a compound found in different plants like basil oregano and it repels mosquito and many other kinds of pests he also attracts lots of beneficial pollinators that they prey on insects like athletes and they keep your garden free of pests to grow lavender there are a few steps that you should consider and take to make this semi-perennial thrive and survive the english varieties of lavender grow in most places they tolerate both winter moisture and humidity keep in mind the lavender is native of the mediterranean sea which means a dry rocky environment because of this most varieties thrive in dry hot and rocky areas i usually prepare a lighter soil mix compared to my other raised beds and if you happen to have a clay soil just make sure to add compost to loosen it up i don't add any extra nutrients to my lavender plants but i top up with good organic compost every season at the beginning of the season lavender requires roughly 10 hours of direct sunlight each day ideally you will look for a south-facing area receiving direct sunlight lavender is slow and finicky to start from seed but it's still possible what i mean by saying slow is that it would take roughly between one and two months just to have some germination action the quicker and easier way to start growing your plants will be to buy an established seedling or nursery plant however young plants could be as well really slow to grow so be patient by the second or third year that you grow your plants the roots will start becoming established and so they will start flowering nicely watering it's also another important aspect of growing lavender do not over water your plants or they will quickly develop fungus around the root mass of the lavender and this is one of the main cause of death of the plant expanding the amounts that you have on hand can be done in a few different ways as mentioned before the germination rate which means the amount of seeds that actually sprouts from what you planted it's really low you will also only be able to plant the lavendular species in fact lavandin seeds are sterile if they even produce any the best way to improve the amount of plants that you have is through cuttings you can take either hard or soft wood cuttings soft wood cuttings can be done in late spring and hardwood cuttings can be done from spring to fall to take your cutting choose a stem without blooms that is three to four inches long take the leaves off the bottom of two inches of the plant and scrape off the skin of one side of the stem you just simply place the bottom two inches in a pot and you let the routine begin the best time to harvest lavender is early on many levels early spring early bloom early morning harvesting lavender flowers in early spring will give enough time to the plant to do another flash of flowers that you could harvest and enjoy in late summer and fall in prosperity climate some varieties of lavender may bloom all year round so you can continuously harvest small bunches of flowers if you have orbs for the highest fragrance and essential oil content the best time to harvest individual flowers is early in their bloom cycle meaning when the young tender buds are ties and barely starting to bloom however fully open lavender flowers have the best colors and are great for bouquet as lavender flowers ages their aroma and oil content decreases and finally herbalists traditionally harvest lavender flowers early in the morning when the morning dew has dried out but they're still perking up from the cold night the reason is as the day goes some of the fragrant essential oils will start to dissipate to harvest individual lavender flower first identify the bloom that you wish to harvest then follow the stem down from the flower bud until a junction where new leaves new buds or new branches have begun to form using small prunings nibs or scissors cut the stem just above the leaves or new branches once the center stem and flour has been removed the plant starts redirecting its energies now those two sideshows will start rapidly to grow and produce new flowers [Music] after the harvest you will be left with a nice little bunch of lavender perfect to hang and dry or to display as a nice bouquet you can also enjoy lavender as a classic cat flower by simply placing the stem with a flower inside a vase with water for medicinal or edible applications you will want to use this lavender as soon as possible especially because it will have the best fragrance and flavor the best way to store fresh lavender for a long time is to dry it the most simple way to dry fresh lavender is to let it hang dry hang the lavender bunches in a warm dry location with good air circulation we usually hang a bunch in every room because the smell is really pleasant while they dry an open window or a fan will help for the dry process also drying lavender out of direct sunlight will help for the color retention the time it takes to fully dry can vary from a couple of weeks to over a month depending on your climate to test if the lavender is completely dry try to snip one of the stems between your fingers when completely dry they will crispy snap rather than just bend another way to dry lavender is to use a food dehydrator this process is also really easy and much quicker than let it dry at room temperature it's not only about speeding up the process but it also makes sure that the lavender is 100 dry if lavender is not dried completely it can easily cause medicinal oil to develop mold and spoil lavender is a beautiful plant not only to display in your garden but also in your home when hanging dry or in small pots on your windowsill it's the perfect plant to attract beneficial pollinator that will help to pollinate your plants and also they will prey on pests i hope you liked today's video and if so please subscribe to my channel turn on the notification settings so you can be notified every time i post a new video and i'll see you next week for another episode thank you so much for watching see ya

Channel: Spicy Moustache

Views: 108,236

Keywords: All you Need to Know about Growing Lavender, How to Chose Lavender, How to Grow Lavender, How to Propagate Lavender, When to Harvest Lavender, How to Harvest Lavender, How to Store Lavender, Urban gardening, gardening tips for beginners, grow lavender at home, english lavender, french lavender, spanish lavender, organic compost, mediterranean plants, herb garden, Organic gardening, natural pest control, spicymoustache, gardening tutorial, beneficial pollinators, flowers, london

Id: sUUNA3Ks87I

Length: 8min 56sec (536 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 16 2021