AROMATIC LAVENDERS
Hopefully this series of blogs about lavender plants will answer all your questions about one of the worlds most popular plants.
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Please note - these are my opinions, and hopefully other experts will agree with my blogs. I am always open to constructive comments, and fully aware that with plants you learn something new everyday...
Best lavender plants for aromatics
The x intermedia group of lavender plants are generally the most aromatic. These lavender plant varieties are often referred to as hybrids. They all bare similar qualities, and characteristics - the main one is the size of the leaves, which are long and large compared to some of the English varieties of lavender plants.
Lavender x intermedia Grosso
One of my favourite lavender varieties. The foliage is generally silver/grey, large leaves, and an upright lavender variety with a quite large potential height of 60cm (24inches). The flowers are classed as a dark violet-blue. The lavender grosso is also renowned as one of the finest for creating oil, and I have been told in the past it has potentially 80% more than any other lavender - open to comments...
Lavender x intermedia Edelweiss
One of the few white flowering lavender varieties, and is quite a consistant, and strong growing variety. The edelweiss is often thought of as the most aromatic lavender variety on the market. Like the grosso above, it has a similar potential, but also has a potential spread of 60cm (24in) - please remember potential height and spread is in ideal conditions - full sun / hot spot, dry soil, and very well-drained soil. The one potential bad point is the maintenance, and in some cases the shape it will grow if you do not trim. The lavender edelweiss will need a good trim every autumn, as soon as the flowers start to fade - trim them back relatively hard, you will see the benefits the year after and in years to come.
Lavender x intermedia Provence
Fields of lavender in France - this is the variety they use. Leaves are generally slightly greener than the grosso variety. Flowers are generally blue, rather than the darker purple. With a potential height of 60-90cm (24-36in) these plants are one of the larger, but like the edelweiss, with annual trimming these can be kept to a nice size.
Lavender x intermedia Grappenhall
One of the more classic varieties of the hybrids, and offers all the qualities of the other intermedia varieties, but out of all this is probably the one which could be mistaken for an English variety. Blue flowers, again a potential height of over 60cm.
There are of course more intermedia varieties, and I'm sure all with offer similar qualities.
Planting distance for intermedia lavender plants
If you are planning on trimming back hard every year - which is recommended - you will need 3-4 plants per metre (1 per foot). If you are buying in 9cm pots they will look a bit lonely in the 1st year, but too close together will not do you any favours in the long term. What you will find with the intermedia varieties is that if you buy a 1 litre plant they will be a genuine 2nd year plant - as they are better grown as 9cm, then potted up the following year - cannot take a short cut with a larger plug!
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