i was told by a lady at one of the garden centers that most lavendar is not considered perennial.
that i did not know. i believe i have english lavendar and have had it for about 4 years, it has spread like crazy, would love to divide it, but not sure how.
i dont do anything to it at all except cut off some of the dried end of season ugly parts, no special winterizing.
it has beautiful color, looks fabulous next to my yellow coreopsis.
good luck with yours :)
mic

I killed lavender my first year by cutting it back in the fall. Dumb! Now, three seasons after planting from seed, I finally have buds, for the first time. I learned to not cut anything in the fall. Generally, during my Christmas vacation from school, I mulch all my perennial beds with straw or old hay. (By then I'm sure that the ground has frozen, and I prevent heaving with the mulch.) I'm in zone 4, near Fort Dodge, and I have one plant each of 'Munstead' and 'Hidcote.' Lately I read that when you cut off spent blooms or harvest them, you need to be careful not to cut off too much. I'm looking forward to seeing them in bloom.

I have munstead lavender.Put sand and broken clay pot pieces in bottom of the hole. And I don't cut back in fall. And only when I see new growth in spring. And was told not to mulch they don't like wet feet. And with me having 4 1/2 of rain WEd night. I poked holes in the ground to dry faster. Had my plants for about 6 years. Are huge now. Good luck.

I have lavender growing in a fairly dry spot that gets full sun. It came back this year despite having snow, ice, sand and salt dumped on it all winter!! This is our first year in our house, and we didn't realize there was a garden under our snow dumping spot by the driveway!

I have had mixed results with lavender. I got three plants and they all lived a couple of years planted together in nearly full sun - they got no special winter shelter except some protection from the wind (house, roses on either side, and a couple of nearby trees to slow the wind).
Then one spring I revised the garden and moved them - one lived and two vanished without a trace. The survivor is planted just a few feet from the first location. The other two were in other spots, but far from the house.
My guess - it's shelter from the wind. The only other protection is pure laziness - I allow the leaves that blow under the plant to stay all winter, and in spring I can hardly see the plant because of all the oak leaves that were caught in the branches.

I've tried several angustifolia cultivars (many) from a trip to Oregon and buying any I could.

Today, I still have lots of Munstead, Hidcote, and Jean Marie.

I'm attempting a new one to me from seed. 'Czech'...ordered from Horizon Herbs. supposedly northern hardy as they have it listed. Much larger plant than the others reaching 3-4 foot in H and W.

I have lavender in many locations...unprotected (completely) and others at various spots in my landscape...some on the west side, some up against a lattice fence, some inside the fence but unprotected, etc...All of what I have are the remaining 3 I spoke of earlier.

Have had them for over 3 years and they are quite large now.

Dax

I'm so glad to read that some of you have had luck with lavendar in NE Iowa! I've been meaning to plant some but couldn't find plants at the local garden centers. Did all of you grow them from seeds or can anyone advise a garden center that carry them?
Thanks & happy gardening to all!
AM

I had no idea that lavendar would grow here - I thought for sure it would be a gonner. Anne-marine, I saw some munstead lavendar at the Hy-vee on Edgewood in Cedar Rapids. It was in the perennial section in a 4 inch pot. I laughed when I saw it but now I see that it can survive. (I used to live in California and was sad when I moved here thinking I would have to give it up). I prefer English lavendar - I think it is a little prettier but Munstead is a good swap out but has a deeper purple color.

Thanks Tannabanana! I might make a strip "south" then...
Is your area "ok" after the floods?

Hi Lavender lovers - My 1st 2 English Lavenders (Vera & J.Davis) were planted 19 years ago in remembrance of my Dad & Mom (my Dad wore' Yardley Lavender-after-shave lotion' all his life). I created a cloverleaf shaped herb garden in the Spring of 1989 & there I planted them side by side. Now I have acquired 8 others over the years (Munstead, Hidcote & J.Davis) planted in my different full/sun flower beds ... love those Lavender wafts as I work around my piece of soil. I harvest blooms when they are just barely opening - bundle & hang them to dry. I put a dried bunch in the car ... wonderful! Â:)

They do like a well draining site in f'/s exposure, so I till in, some coarse sand or turkey gits & lately, I used peletized gypsum into the deeper than usual, planting hole. Also a layer of sand or peletized gypsum in the bottom.

I've never protected them - I guess leaving their tangled mess to collect all the blown fallen leaves in Autumn were enough mulch to over-winter them.
I just prune to 8" in Spring, after breaking dormancy.

I am trying to root my original 2 with plans to move them to a sunnier bed (the herb island is now mostly shaded by grown trees).

IMHO - every perennial gardener should have one in their flower beds! Those little White Cabbage & Yellow Sulfur Butterflies love them!

Have a great season!