Lavender is a popular and fragrant plant for both commercial and personal use. It is also one of the simplest plants to cultivate from seed. Growing and caring for Lavandula angustifolia in your yard can provide you with a pleasant fragrance all year. It has a peaceful and tranquil aroma, which provides therapeutic benefits that can aid with stress and sleep issues, among other things. Lavandula is a great way to bring a lovely smell to your house, especially during the spring or around the holidays!
There are more than 20 species that grow throughout the world. However, only a few are commonly grown as culinary herbs for their fragrant flowers, including Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender), Lavandula dentata (Spanish lavender), Lavandula stoechas (German or Greek lavender), Lavandula officinalis (common or French lavender), and Lavandulacea spicata (Spanish lavendeline).
With dried flower bunches, you can create a flowering pot or bath salts with dried flower buds. Dried flower buds are also great for cooking. You can use dried flowers for tea, in herbal remedies, and many other uses. Dried flower buds can also be made into sachets or sachet bags to keep your home scented. You can use dried flower buds to make lavender oil, water, creams, and many other herbal products.
How to Grow Lavender From Seed
Lavender is a perennial herb that can easily be grown from seed. Grow from seed indoors from February to May. Make sure that you check the soil temperature and are ready to plant your seeds outside when soil temperatures are warm enough.
If you wish to sow seeds outside, do it in the fall, before the first frost. If you wait too long, the cold will destroy the seeds. Planting seeds in a sunny, well-drained place can ensure a rich harvest of blooms. Check that the soil is not too dry. The recommended soil pH for lavender cultivation is 6.5.
Lavender Dentata Seeds. Credit: Muséum de Toulouse, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Planting Instructions
In order to grow lavender from seed, you must first germinate the seeds and set them in potting soil.
It is recommended to plant lavender seeds indoors in February or March, about one month before outdoor planting. Make sure that the potting soil is well-drained and consistently moist. Transplant the seedlings outside in the spring after the last frost has passed and the soil outside is warm enough to handle outdoor planting. The ideal temperature for growing lavender from seed is 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep the planting area well watered and avoid overhead irrigation.
Why Grow Your Own?
Growing your own lavender has a number of advantages. Plant lavender to minimize the amount of pesticide used on plants. It might help you save money on essential oils. Produce fragrant blooms for herbal remedies, potpourri, and a number of other uses. Aside from these benefits, growing your own lavender is a great way to learn about and nurture your own herbs. There is discussion on plant anatomy, fertilization, irrigation, and other issues. With a little research and planning, you may grow your own herbal medicines that are both healthy and effective.
The Right Environment For Growth
Lavender is a fairly simple plant to grow; simply provide the proper growth conditions for the herb to develop. A somewhat warm, sunny site with an average soil temperature of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for producing lavender. Maintain a well-drained and constantly wet soil surrounding the lavender plant. Lavender requires well-drained soil so that excess water drains away from the roots, reducing root damage. Sandy soil is preferable to clay soil because it contains more organic matter and is less acidic.
Harvesting seeds
Harvesting lavender seeds is easy, just shake the flowering pot and harvest the seeds from the stems. You can harvest seeds from the flowering plants for about 2 months. When the flowers start to wilt and appear dull, you can harvest the seeds from the stems. You can also collect the seeds from the dried flower buds. The flower buds can be harvested when the flowers have finished blooming and are dry.
Pros of growing from seed
Low Maintenance: The easiest and least time-consuming way to grow is from seed. It will require minimal maintenance and is best for beginners.
Limited Costs: The seed is the most economical way to grow due to its low cost and very low cost per flower.
Adaptable To Various Locations: it is very adaptable and can be grown almost anywhere, even in hilly or uneven terrain.
Varied Scent: Since it is a hybrid plant, it produces different scents depending upon the species used.
Cons of growing from seed
Long Harvest Period: The harvest period can take up to a year.
Back-breaking Work: The harvesting of the flowers is back-breaking work. The flowering period lasts for a very long time, which can be very tiring.
Long Waiting Period: The harvesting of the dried flower buds also requires a long waiting period before the flowers can be used.
Drying Time: Drying flowers also requires a long waiting period before the flowers can be used.
Summary
Lavender is a highly perfumed herb that has many uses and benefits from growing your own lavender. It is easy to grow from seed and the harvest is relatively quick and easy. The only downside to growing from seed is that you will only get one harvest of lavender flowers.
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