Did you know there are over 543 different cultivars of lavender? I know! Crazy! So lets get started with the ones that grow well here in the southeast and what we have learned about these different cultivars growing here at our farm.

Our plants go on sale in mid April - end of June based on availability. We do not recommend planting in any other season, except Spring due to our winter climate getting more ice than snow. We only sell our plants at our farm shop, since transporting tender lavender baby plants is very difficult without especially made boxes for shipping, and we just do not have enough time to add a transportation/shipping department for plants. We are so busy with planting, caring, harvesting, distilling, and producing product. 

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Angustifolias (English Culinary): To grow this variety here in the South is most difficult, but can be done if you allow only 4-6 hours of full sunlight and they do best in pots or raised beds. This makes it a perfect type to grow on a porch. These bloom twice a year, but the second bloom in early fall is much less than in first bloom. Let’s explore some of these.

Munstead: Medium purple flowers. 6 - 8 inch stems. 20 - 24 inches in height. Blooms twice a year beginning in late spring. Uses include; culinary herb, fresh cut flower, dried flower, crafts

SuperBlue:  Nice deep purple in color with biggest blooms that are tighter together, delivering more color and fewer airy gaps. 12 inches in height. Heat and humidity tolerance. Blooms twice beginning in early summer. Uses; perfect choice for edging walkways and setting into patio containers, fresh and dried flower

Big Time Blue: Color is a mix of light lavender to deep purple. Known for its fragrance. First of the lavenders to bloom in early spring. Abundant blooms are large size 4 inches. 2 - 24 inches in height. Uses: Hedges, culinary, fresh and dried bundles.

Royal Velvet: Dark blue flowers.12-14 inch stems. 24 - 30 inches in height. Blooms twice a year starting in spring. Uses include; culinary, fresh and dried bundles

New Zealand Blue: Lavender colored blooms. 18 - 24 inches in height. Seems to tolerate our souther climate, but recommend growing in raised beds. Blooms twice a year. Uses: culinary, bouquets fresh or dried.

Mailette: This variety’s long, thin flower spikes are very fragrant. 18-20 inches in height. The variety was introduced by Pierre Grosso, of Grosso Lavender fame, and raised in France for oil production. This variety was introduced in the U.S. around 1981.

Intermedias -  long stem and strongest fragrance: 

Fat Spike - true Grosso: Medium to dark purple flower. 16 - 20 inch stems. 32 - 36 inches in height. Blooms in June and continues through summer if not cut. Most showy. Uses: fragrant buds, high oil content, sachets and crafting. Easiest to grow here in the south. Very hardy.

White Spike: White Blooms. 16-20 inch stems. strongly scented, blooms mid-summer, culinary. Uses: excellent contrast in landscapes. The color white is a striking contrast in both fresh bouquets and dried

Provence: Light purple in color. 16-20″ stems. 30-36″ in height. Very fragrant/. Blooms mid-summer bloom, our favorite for making lavender wands, sachets and culinary uses. This light colored, sweet smelling flower is very fragrant in fresh bouquets. The fragrant blossoms when dried fall off the stalk easily, and because of that make great sachet.

Impress Purple: Darkest in purple blooms. 17 inch stems. Height 30 - 48 inches. Apprences is similar to Grosso with fatter flower spikes. Robust bush plant with sprawling stems. One of our favorites for You-Pick bouquets. Uses: Hedges, dried, or gardens. Not tolerant south of zone 7. 

Phenomenal: Dark purple flower. Patient - cannot propagate.   5 inch flower spike. 14 - 18 inch stems. 24 - 32 inches in height. Blooms in June and continues through summer if not cut. Most showy. Uses: fragrant buds, borders, sachets and crafting. Very hardy to extreme cold winters and ranges to hot summers, but does. not tolerate very intense heat. Our experience is do not plant near fences or anywhere that will reflect heat.

Sensational: Dark purple with the largest blooms. Patented - cannot propagate. Very similar to Phenomenal. Hardy to extreme winters and ranges in hot summer, but does not tolerate extreme heat. Uses: Great for borders, gardens, large pots, dried crafting.

Bridget Chloe: Nice purple color. Height of 30 inches with span of 5 feet. Patented - cannot propagate. We have found this one to be tolerant of heat, humidity, and summer rains of the Southeast US.Was patented as a sport of Lavandula 'Provence' so has similar characteristics, which means can be used as a culinary. Sweet to taste. Bridget Chloe was awarded the Gold Award of Excellence by the International Perfume Foundation.USes: culinary, hedges, walkways, fresh, dried, crafting. 

Eldelweiss: Large intensely fragrant white blooms. 24 - 36 inches in Height. Blooms in mid Summer through fall with a profuse summer display of snowy white flowers and sweetly aromatic foliage. This mid-sized French hybrid is a unique specimen for any gardener who loves Lavender. Plant in a soothing monochromatic color scheme, or plant with blue flowered cultivars to create a delightful color combination.

Spanish - Stoechas: 

Otto Quast: Bloom is characterized by its deep purple color pineapple head with two pink wings on top. Very pungent scent of camphor. This hardy variety of Spanish lavender is known for its bold, purple-bracketed blooms. 20 - 28 inches in height. 30 - 36 inches wide. last leaf to flower head is very short, so not recommended for bouquets or drying. Flower heads may be pinched off to dry and used in sachets. Otto Quast blooms from early spring until the first hard freeze. It contains attractive foliage during the winter months than some of the other lavender varieties. I do recommend covering plant if temperatures dip below freezing. It features a softer, yet deeply satisfying fragrance that attracts birds, butterflies and humans. It is one that is very hardy for the south conditions and grows well in the south. Uses: Great for hedges and walkways. Sachets. 

Find out how to plant them correctly in the south and for more detailed planting instructions register for our 'Plant and Take' class. We will have dates available from mid April through the end of June. Registrations will be set up beginning in March for these classes.