This is my first year growing from seed indoors and I had no issues with getting lavender seeds to germinate although I too read how difficult it can be. I started them off in peat pellets and then transferred the seedlings into a container mix when they got bigger. I also tried to winter sow some but none came up for me.

It does grow slowly however so if you want immediate gratification you might be better off purchasing a few plants instead and letting them take over as Skybird suggested. I started seeds in the beginning of April and they look great but are only a few inches tall. Good luck!

I always learn so much from this forum!

Skybird, I didn't realize, that lavendar can just die off. I was going to use this in one area as a front border across the entire length. I wouldn't want it to be patchy, so it now gives me pause as to whether lavendar will indeed be the plant of choice. I read it really doesn't like too much water and can die from it. Any chance that's why it died off? I do like the idea that it won't all die off at once. I don't have any landscape fabric in that area (I yanked most of it out of my yard years ago).

Nicole, I've never tried the peat pellets (I had to google what they even were). If I indeed proceed forward on them, I will utilize your hands on experience. I read that it's a good idea to put the seed in the frig for a few weeks to stratisfy the seed. Did you do that?

I did not put them in the frig but read you can do that as well to improve germination. It may depend on the cultivar, but I grew 'True' lavender. I think more popular ones are 'Munstead' or 'English' lavender - myself I couldn't tell you the difference. The Dollar Tree I bought the seeds at had 'True' so that is what I got. Since I'm just starting out I got some cheap seeds in case it was a total bust.

I watch a few YouTube garden channels and CaliKim29 is one of them. She uses peat pellets to start her seeds and has had great success so I gave them a try. For me they have worked amazingly well, much cleaner than seed starting mix and pretty cheap.

I suspect the "original" plant here died off from too much water--the people I bought the house from didn't know ANYTHING about gardening! The ones that die on me I believe are dying because of how frequently I cut them down--and when I cut them down it's about an inch above the soil, so I REALLY cut them down! The reason I cut them down is mostly because I want to get a second, and sometimes a third, primary bloom--depending on the summer and if I have time to cut them down an "extra" time now that there are so many of them. But cutting them down that short also keeps them--the ones that survive!--really nice and compact and pretty looking plants. In my opinion they should be cut back at least in fall or over winter to get rid of all the dead foliage from the previous year--like you'd do with any other perennial, but you wouldn't need to do the "additional" cuttings unless you were trying to get additional blooms like I do--I easily get two complete primary blooms each year.

For me having a few plants dying each year is no problem at all since there are so many of them--I'm usually happy to have a few of them "go away" since there are always lots of new ones coming along! And the old plants tend to get woodier and woodier, so the "new" plants are "prettier" in my opinion--but that would be a matter of personal preference. If they were NEVER cut down I've seen pics of huge, olde lavender plants that were tall and woody and looked, to me, more like a grotesque bonsai plant than a Pretty Lavender Plant. So when and how often you cut yours down will just be a matter of what you want them to look like--and if you want to go for a second bloom each year.

They definitely like DRY! I can never believe the seedlings survive out there with the conditions they're growing in! In addition to the rock and fabric, the "soil" they're growing in is some of the worst heavy clay I've ever seen! They do get watered some when I water the roses that are out there, but that doesn't happen all that often, and I just kind of "hit them" when I do it! They seem to thrive on neglect!

Somewhere around here on some thread I posted a complete series of pics showing them before, during, and after cutting them back--how I do it, but I can't find the thread. I did find this thread which at least has a couple pics showing where they're growing and what they look like when they're cut down at least twice a year--fall/winter and after the first bloom in summer. The first few that were here when I moved in were along the building on the left side--that's where the "original" one was that was dead when I moved in! Since those pics, whatever year they were taken, It's spread between all the roses in the foreground, and along the side in the second pic. There are so many of them now that I occasionally pull out some of the small seedlings because they're "overtaking" everything. I leave as many as I do because I like them and they provide great color--at least twice a summer! If you get some in and they start reseeding I wouldn't worry about a few of them dying off at times! When they start to "take over" you're never gonna miss a few of them--there will always be MORE!

One more thing! Bees love them!

Skybird

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2125983/overwintering-lavender#n=6

If you do buy some plants you can also take cuttings thereby increasing the amount of plants you have. Fairly easy to do. You can also bury some stems from the mother plant and they will root after about a month.

My experience is the same as Skybird's. We planted a couple lavender bushes at my mom's house when I was in high school (not TERRIBLY long ago, but long enough I sppose, it's been 12-15 years now). We have lavender coming out our noses over there now. It joyously reseeds itself, just as Skybird's, in the rock mulch, through weed fabric, in the vegetable garden, in other perennial beds. It doesn't seem to care, it just pops up seemingly everywhere.

Now, we don't trim ours, besides removing the old flower stalks in the spring (we tend to leave all the old stuff over the winter so it can reseed and provide food for the birds). The original plant (we ended up losing one a couple years ago) would probably fall into the "grotesque bonsai" category, especially right after winter, but it typically fills back in pretty well by the time it starts blooming in late June-early July.

So, to answer your question, no, I have never tried to grow lavender from seed. I have never needed to. Planting a couple started plants, in a few years you will have more lavender than you really want, in places you never really wanted it.

I will also second that it likes dry conditions. In fact, many places further east have to treat it like an annual I believe because they are just too wet for it, especially over the winter. The more exposed and inhospitable the site, the more the lavender seems to thrive.

I will also add that the only lavender that is hardy here in Colorado is the English Munstead type. The French and Spanish lavenders are, unfortunately, not winter hardy here.