Pleasant aroma, unpretentiousness, attractive appearance and a variety of practical applications have long made Lavender one of the most popular plants. For her, there are secrets of care. What conditions need to create a plant to become a real decoration of your garden, and how to grow a lavender from the seeds?
Lavender: description and types
Lavender has a rather discreet appearance: a green, matte stem, covered with foliage, an arrow of small purple flowers. The height of an evergreen plant is from 20 cm, and the diameter of an ordinary lavender bush is not more than 40 cm.
You will not immediately notice this shy girl in the garden, but if not by her appearance, then everyone will know the smell of lavender. The warm, rich and slightly tart smell of lavender attracts both beneficial insects (honey bees) and sophisticated aesthetes-gardeners.
Did you know? Lavender smells not only inflorescence. The stem and leaves also have a characteristic aroma, but softer than that of the flowering part.
Lavender has the following properties: 
- medicinal (has anti-inflammatory effect, soothes, relieves headache)
- decorative (used for registration of landscape zones)
- cosmetic (organic supplement for skin and hair care products)
Features of the use of lavender depend on its type, which number about 30. The difference between them in color, size of inflorescences, stem height and leaf shape. Some of the species grow only in certain places, and most - on all continents and continents.
The most common types of lavender:
Narrow-leaved lavenderor real. The peculiarity of this species is in high frost resistance and fast regeneration. The narrow-leaved lavender does not require special conditions for cultivation and easily takes root on any type of soil.
Broad lavender has a brighter scent, and the stem produces not one, but three arrows of inflorescences.
Lavender cog - decorative, "dwarf" view with bright colors and silver figured leaves.
French lavender germinates only in the open field, transplanting into a pot is contraindicated. Small flowers are almost lost on the background of large leaves, which makes this type of lavender an ideal material for hedges.
Dutch lavender - This is a hybrid species bred by crossing broad-leaved and narrow-leaved relatives.
Important! The stalk of the highest evergreen shrub reaches 2 m in height. Only hybrid species of lavender are capable of this, for the cultivation of which special climatic conditions are needed.
How to choose a place for growing lavender
When planting lavender in your garden, you need to take into account some of the nuances that directly affect the quality of flowering and the survival rate of the plant as a whole.
Lavender is very sensitive to acids, so peat soil does not suit it. The ideal option would be a porous, loose soil with a low level of acidity. But if your site is not possible to create such conditions for the plant, how to sprout lavender? Regular application of wood ash or lime will make the soil more fresh, and with the help of organic fertilizers you saturate the soil with nutrients.
Wetlands or soil with highly flowing undercurrents are not suitable for lavender. In a humid environment, this evergreen shrub fades and then dies. But if there is no other place, then with the help of drainage layers it is possible to reduce the level of soil moisture and create favorable conditions for the cultivation of lavender bushes.
As for illumination, lavender can grow in both shady and sunny areas. But in the second case, the lavender will delight you with bright inflorescences and a spicy scent, and in the first case - the look and the aroma of the plant will be very dull.
Evergreen Planting Rules
Under favorable conditions, lavender grows well and willingly multiplies. Seating of already formed shrubs can be done both in spring and in autumn, the only condition is sunny weather and moderate watering. In the autumn, the plant will report its “readiness” for transplantation with a hardened stem, and in spring with swollen buds.
Before planting lavender in the open ground, pour a hole 5-8 cm deep and leave it to “steam” under the covered film for about 3-4 days, periodically watering the ground. Then, having dug a bush with a clod of soil, detach the desired part of the bush with the root and place it in the prepared hole. During the rooting period, lavender should be watered often, but not overdoing it.
Features care for lavender
Lavender - unpretentious bush. But this does not mean that you do not need to care for her. A beautiful, strong, flowering plant is the result of proper care.
How to water lavender
Lavender loves moderate humidity. Water lavender as the soil dries. In the summer, the frequency of irrigation - 2-3 times a week, in the offseason will be enough and once in 1-1,5 weeks.
Soil loosening and dressing
It is important to monitor the soil in which lavender grows. In a loose, oxygen-rich soil, the plant grows better and produces more beautiful inflorescences.
Important!The roots of lavender do not go so deep into the ground, like other shrubs. Loosening the soil, try not to be too zealous with the tool, otherwise you risk damaging the root system and ruin the entire bush.
Lavender responds well to top dressing: it quickly absorbs fertilizer and very soon comes to growth and color. Both organic stimulants and mineral complex fertilizers are suitable for it.
How to cut lavender
Lavender bushes have a rather chaotic shape, and in order for your flowerbed to look well-groomed, from time to time it is necessary to prune the crown of the plant.
The rules for pruning depend on the type and growth of the bush, but there are a number of requirements common to all types of lavender:
- trim the inflorescences after the first flowering;
- not affect the stiffened pillar of the plant, and cut only the young shoot;
- maximum length of the cut-off part - no more than 5 cm.
Reproduction lavender
Growing lavender includes not only planting and care, but also the ability to properly propagate the bush. What methods of reproduction lavender exist?
Cuttings
One of the simplest and most effective methods of reproduction of lavender bushes is grafting. For him to prepare the soil for planting and collect planting material.
Young shoots cut from an adult bush are used as cuttings. The optimal length of planting material - 10 cm, so long shoots can be cut into several small cuttings.
Ready for planting soil - it is loosened, oxygenated land, generously watered with water. It is in such a soil that you need to place the finished cuttings, sprinkle them with earth and pin down at the base.
The best time for planting horticultural crops in open ground is the first months of summer. At the end of the season, the cuttings will take root, and it will be possible to plant them at a permanent place of flowering.
For the period of rooting the plant needs a large amount of moisture, drought will destroy even the strongest cuttings.
Growing lavender
The question of how to plant lavender seeds is relevant. If there is no adult shrub from which cuttings can be cut, the seedling method is the only option!
After buying the seeds of lavender need to harden, for this they are placed in a bag of sand and sent to the refrigerator for 1.5-2 months. This procedure should be done in early January, so that by March the seeds were ready for planting in the ground.
Did you know?Hardening boosts the plant's “immunity” to the winter cold. The hardening procedure must go through the seeds of lavender of any kind, which will grow in regions with severe frosts.
By the time of disembarkation, it is necessary to prepare pots or boxes, fill them with soil to half. Seeds together with sand are poured into the soil and sprinkled with the rest of the earth with a thickness of not more than 5 cm.
The seed box is covered with a film or glass and placed in a dark place for 1.5 weeks. When the lavender germinates, the container needs to be rearranged to a room with a temperature of + 15 ... + 22 ° C, waiting for the sprouts to become strong, to prepare the bushes for landing in the ground.
Lavender takes root well, endures cold and heat. It will be a real decoration of any garden.
