Plant, Tree & Shrub Library

Other Names:  Toothed Lavender, Fringed Lavender

Description:

This beautiful and aromatic flowering shrub is covered with purple flowers through summer; scent is more delicate than the species; excellent choice for low informal hedging and in borders and formal gardens

Ornamental Features

French Lavender has masses of beautiful spikes of fragrant purple flowers rising above the foliage from early to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive fragrant needle-like leaves are grayish green in color with showy silver variegation. The foliage often turns coppery-bronze in fall.

Landscape Attributes

French Lavender is a dense herbaceous evergreen perennial with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

French Lavender is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Herb Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

French Lavender will grow to be about 32 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it is technically a woody plant, this slow-growing plant can be expected to behave as a perennial in our climate if planted outdoors over the winter, usually regrowing from its base (crown) the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for alkaline soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America.

French Lavender is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.