Description

Lavender – French

This variety features unusual, aromatic, silver-grey leaves and small purple flowers topped with rose-purple bracts. This hardy shrub may need some protection, and reaches the height of 60cm.

Sow indoors from February to June, 0.5cm deep, in a tray of compost. Water well and place in a cold frame, unheated greenhouse, or on a warm kitchen windowsill. Keep moist. Seedlings usually appear in 21-42 days. Transplant individually, when large enough to handle, to 7.5cm pots. Always hold by a leaf, never by the stem. Gradually accustom young plants to outside conditions, avoiding frosts, before planting out, into well-drained soil in a sheltered spot, from August to October, 40cm apart. If plants are large enough to transplant outside in autumn, they are best protected with cloches through the winter. Alternatively, plant out, from March to May, the following spring. Flowers from June to September, the following year.