Product Description
The lavender hybrid 'Grosso' is a Lavandin type with gray leaves and up to 6" long spikes of dark blue flowers. Attracts bees and butterflies. The needs and maintenance are similar to any other lavender: full sun, well drained soil, and cutting back after blooming. Avoid heavy and wet soils.
Lavandin lavenders are hybrids of English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Broadleaved lavender (Lavandula latifolia). The Lavandin types differ from common English lavender in the following ways:
- they are much bigger and more robust
- the flowers are smaller and paler, but bloom in longer, slightly looser conical spikes on very long stems
- Lavandin types start flowering later, usually in July, and flower for several weeks into late summer
- these hybrids are grown in field culture, where the flowering stems are harvested for the production of essential oils (the yields are much higher than what L. angustifolia can offer)
- Lavandin lavenders are a bit more tender, hardy in zones 6a - 9, and are usually a bit more finicky about drainage, which is a must for these
- the ornamental impact is also different, as the plants form a larger, airy structure (which sometimes lean to the side a bit) that is reminiscent of a small shrub
Growing lavender is simple! All you really need is:
1) full sun and drained soil
The Mediterranean region, the homeland of lavender, has lots of sun and drier, rocky, gravelly soils, mostly made of limestone. Therefore, some drainage is essential, especially for the wet winter months. We recommend making the planting hole bigger than the pot, removing some of the original soil in your flower bed, and mixing in some sand and/or gravel. You can put gravel around the crown of the plant too (where the stem and roots meet).
It's also good to gently remove some of the potting soil from around the roots, since it contains some peat, which holds water (this is useful in the nursery, but not in your flower bed).
The soil shouldn't be overly acidic (remember that it naturally grows in limestone soils), nor too rich. Too much water and nutrients will shorten a lavender plant's life, or it will grow too fast and become leggy, plus the stems and leaves will be too "watery" and won't overwinter well.
2) to cut your lavender back every year when it is finished blooming (or at the end of summer)
This is a fairly strict recommendation. Cut your lavender back about 1-2" under the flowering stem (into the "leafy” part), shaping it into a round, half-globe mound - this will form very nice and dense "shrubs" and, most likely, it will set up new flush of blooms too.
Densely leaved plants overwinter much better and look better! No shearing means in time the plant will become leggy, open, and lean to one side, with a thick woody stem that will be visible, so the whole look will be less attractive.
3) to never cut it back too much - no deeper than 1/3 of the leafy part!
This is because lavender is an evergreen plant and has to keep the bigger portion of its evergreen leaves, as it has little strength and resources to put towards resprouting and recovering.
Picture copyright: Couleur Lavande, Flickr
Blooming Time: July to August
Size: 2.5-3' tall x 3-4' wide
USDA Zones: 6a to 9
Culture: full sun, well-drained soil (do not overwater or plant in heavy clay)
Moisture Needs: dry to medium
Origin: the Mediterranean region (France, Italy, Spain)
Deer/Rabbit Resistant: yes / yes
Attracts Butterflies or Pollinators: yes / yes
Attracts Hummingbirds: no
Pot Size: square 3.5" wide x 4" deep perennial pot