Lavender works ( Lavandula spp . ) are herbaceous recurrent herbs with redolent foliage and flower . Most kind create small , gray - green leaves densely clustered along the branches . grandiloquent stems loom over the leaves , pinch with a ear of fragrant , tubular flowers . The bloom are clustered together on the end of the spike attracting bees and butterflies to the garden . Most types of lilac bloom are purple , but some varieties are available in pinkish or white .
Classification or Categories of Lavender
Genus lavandular can be categorised into four major groups :
Spike Lavender
Spike , or Portuguese , lavender ( L. latifolia ) is native to the mountains of Spain , France and Portugal . Quite dissimilar from other types , spike lavender plants are 3 animal foot tall and 4 foot across-the-board , and are often relate to as broad - leaf lavender because of their wide , spatula - shaped leaves . The plants tend to remain in flower longer than other lavenders and have branched flower stalks that grow purplish - blue peak . Classically used in sachets and perfumes , efflorescence on spike lavender are highly fragrant and keep well when dry . Cultivars admit :
French or Spanish Lavender
Gallic lavender ( L. Stoechas ) is also called Spanish lavender , or sometimes butterfly lavender because its over-embellished heyday spikes have marvelous , pink - to - purple petal that extend from the top of each spike and resemble butterflies . This type of lavender has grey-haired - green leaves and in the main reaches a height of 1 to 3 foot with an adequate cattle farm . It blooms from late saltation into summer , produce desirably fragrant bloom . cultivar include :
Dutch Lavender
Dutch lavender ( L. x intermedia ) , also call lavandin , starts to bloom in midsummer , a mo later than English or Gallic lavender . crossbreed lavender President Bush , called lavandins , are typically hybrid between English lavender and broadleafed lavender . forms bushy mound about 2 feet tall and has strongly redolent . It flush and foliage . Its flowers are especially racy in lilac-colored oil , but its fragrance has more or less medicative overtones with hints of camphor or menthol . Lavandula x intermedia is the most vulgar hybrid , encompassing such democratic varieties as :
English Lavender
A common type of lavender , English lavender ( L. angustifolia ) is a shaggy-haired , shrublike works that usually raise about 3 foundation marvellous and 4 feet wide . Its furred , gray - light-green leaf cover the plant ’s erect stems and give off a minty aroma when hurt . The plant life ’s blossom appear in summertime on stiff , good stalking . Each flower spike is made up of many petite flowers that contain a fragrant oil . Cultivars let in :
Caring for Lavender
These sunlight - sleep together plants uprise best in safe - debilitate soil that delay on the dry side . The grime call for watering once it is almost ironic . Last twelvemonth ’s peak shoots are pruned back at the beginning of spring before fresh growth occurs . Deadhead the dying flowers to encourage the maturation of more heyday . Lavender plant are not long - subsist shrubs and need replace about every 10 years .
Propagation of Lavender
All varieties of lilac plants can be propagated by semi - ripe cutting lead during the summertime . These press clipping are dip in rooting hormone and grown in a greenhouse until the watch bounce when they are transfer outside . Many character grow well from seed sown in a greenhouse or cold soma in the spring . cum of lavender plants germinate very slowly , taking one to three months to shoot . Do not disseminate diagnose lavender diverseness from seed because they will not bring about a knockoff of the plant .
