Lavender 0,5 g

Characteristics of Lavender:

Lavender is an ornamental, herb and medicinal plant. It is an evergreen half-shrub. Most lavender bushes start flowering in June, which lasts until July or August. Some varieties of lavender start a second flowering in early autumn. This requires you to remove the flower stems immediately after the summer flowering. The flower colour can be purple, white, blue, pale blue or pink. Leaves are green or silvery green. It has a very strong, aromatic scent, which is one of the reasons for its popularity. Its flowers are edible, so you can use them to garnish your food or even make lavender syrup. It also makes a great edging plant, so you can plant it along the garden path.The nectar from its flowers will attract small butterflies and bees to your garden.

The cultivation of lavender:

Propagating lavender:

Lavender can be propagated from seed, which should be planted in late autumn in the open ground, pots or hotbeds. In the spring, it is necessary to plant it until it is strong enough to be planted out. This can take up to a year, or preferably two. A single lavender seed will eventually grow into a lavender bush over several years. It can also be propagated by grafting.

Planting lavender:

Lavender can be planted both as a ground cover and as a free-root plant. It can be planted in large containers or large pots, but in open ground is best. Free-rooted seedlings should be well soaked when planted, and the root and bush should be pruned back a little. Whether you plant free-rooted lavender or potted lavender, water the seedlings temporarily once or twice a week after planting until they sprout! The lavender should be planted in a sunny and warm place, it has no special soil requirements, likes calcareous, clayey, nutrient-poor soil and is drought tolerant. The most important thing is plenty of sunlight. It is a perennial, stops growing in the winter and shoots its green shoots in the spring. To encourage bush growth, cut the bush back to half to two-thirds in early spring (March) each year. This will allow the lavender bush to renew itself from time to time and produce a significant number of lavender flowers each year. The main flowering period is in June-July and the second flowering period is in August-September. The planting distance depends on what you want. If you want to create a border or hedge, the distance between the stems can be 50 cm or less, if you want large round bushes, 100 cm. For larger plantings, the planting distance is 50 cm x 150 cm.

Lavender care:

Apart from regular annual pruning, lavender requires no special care, is drought tolerant and has no pests. The lavender bush is not subject to drought, it does not suffer from dryness, does not require any drought tolerance, and is not susceptible to drought. Cut flowers for fresh use and drying at the beginning of flowering, harvest for oil distillation towards the middle of flowering. If harvested in time in summer, a second flowering can be expected in autumn. No spraying is necessary. After planting lavender, water regularly every week until it is well rooted in place. It is drought-tolerant, but will appreciate moderate watering.

Harvesting and drying lavender:

At the beginning of flowering, when the lavender flowers have just opened, cut them off stem by stem and dry in a shady, airy place. If you want a dried flower arrangement, hang it upside down. The amount of lavender second flowering in autumn is half the amount of summer flowers. Lavender's highest oil content is in the middle of flowering, when half the flowers have already opened.