How to Grow Lavender

Lavender is a popular summer-flowering plant grown for its dainty pale purple colour and relaxing perfume. It grows well in beds, borders, and containers alike, and is adored by bees and butterflies. As a bonus, lavender can be harvested for gloriously scented fresh or dried arrangements!

Whether you're looking to start from scratch with lavender seeds or go with established lavender plants, this guide will walk you through the essential steps to ensure your lavender thrives. Learn everything you need to know about how to grow lavender below, from preparing the ground to harvesting the fragrant blooms. 

Lavender can be grown in flower beds, borders, herb gardens, or containers. It needs full sun, so select a bright, unsheltered spot in your garden that receives at least 6-8 hours of sunlight each day. 

Before planting, you’ll need to do some ground prep:

1. Weed and aerate: Remove any weeds, rocks, and debris, and aerate the soil using a garden fork. This will make the soil lighter and less compacted, giving roots more room to grow.
2. Check soil drainage: Lavender likes dry, free-draining soil. If your soil is heavy or clay-based, improve drainage by mixing in sand, coarse grit, or perlite. Planting on a mound or raised bed can also help prevent waterlogged roots.
3. Test pH: Lavender grows best in neutral to alkaline soil with a pH between 6.5 and 8.0. If your soil is too acidic, you can raise the pH by adding lime.

If growing in a container, choose a pot with large drainage holes and use a loam-based compost with up to 25% grit or perlite added.

Unlike many other flowering plants, lavender thrives in nutrient-poor soil, so there’s no need to add fertiliser or organic matter. Too much fertiliser can cause lavender to produce fewer flowers and grow weak and droopy.

If growing from seed, start your lavender seeds indoors from February to June. Sow thinly on the surface of damp seed compost and cover lightly with a sprinkle of compost or vermiculite. 

Maintain a temperature of 21-25°C until the seeds germinate – use a propagator or place the seed tray inside a polythene bag to keep it warm (ensuring air can still circulate). Light helps lavender seeds to sprout, so keep them somewhere bright and sunny. Make sure the compost stays moist, but not wet.

Seedlings should start to appear from three weeks after sowing. When large enough to handle, transfer them into individual 7.5cm pots and grow on in cooler temperatures.

You can transplant young lavender plants outdoors in spring or early summer after the risk of frost has passed. Gradually ‘harden off’ your plants by acclimatising them to outdoor conditions over the course of a week.

For a quicker start, you can buy established lavender plants. Garden-ready plants can be planted outdoors immediately, while younger plug plants may need to be grown indoors before they’re strong enough to plant out.

For best results, plant lavender outdoors in spring (March to May). You can also plant hardy varieties from August to October, after the heat of summer has passed but before the first frost. 

Space lavender plants 30cm-90cm apart: closer together if growing a hedge, or further apart if planting in groups or growing larger varieties. Dig a hole just big enough for the root ball, place the plant in the hole, and firm the soil gently around it before watering thoroughly.

English lavender (Lavandula angustifola) will flower from June to July. French lavender (Lavandula stoechas) typically flowers for longer periods, from late spring through to the end of summer.

Water your new lavender plants regularly during their first summer. Once well established, these drought-tolerant plants will only need watering during extended periods of no rain. Lavender grown in containers may need watering more often if the soil dries out in warmer weather. Never let plants become waterlogged. 

As a perennial, lavender will flower each year if properly cared for. After the flowering season (August to September), deadhead spent flowers and cut back about a third of the green growth, being careful not to cut into the woody stems. This will encourage a second bloom and keep the plant compact.

There’s usually no need to feed lavender plants, as they prefer low-fertility soil. At most, you can add a little potash fertiliser in spring.

Most English lavender cultivars are hardy and can be left outside all year round. Half-hardy types, such as French lavender, are best grown in containers and moved indoors or to a greenhouse during winter. 

Harvest lavender when the flowers have colour, but have not yet fully bloomed. For best results, harvest around midday, after the morning dew has dried – this is when the scented oils will be at their highest levels. 

Gather a bunch of lavender together and clip it at the bottom of the stems with sharp secateurs. Aim to cut just above a leaf pair, which encourages the plant to produce more flowers. Secure bunches of lavender using elastic bands as you go.

Once harvested, strip leaves from the woody stems before placing the flowers into a vase of fresh water. Change the water daily and the blooms should last for up to a week. 

Alternatively, you can dry lavender flowers for use in potpourri, scented pillows, fragrance sachets, or even cooking. Hang the bundles upside down in a cool, dark, and well-ventilated area, and after a few weeks, your dried lavender will be ready to use!

Grow Lavender with Johnsons Seeds

If you’re looking to fill your beds, borders, and containers with summer-long fragrance and colour, visit Johnsons Seeds. We have a great selection of high-quality lavender seeds to choose from, all carefully selected for the highest germination rates. Or, for a faster start, check out our lavender plants - each one hand-selected and delivered to your door at the perfect time for potting or planting.