Lavender is not supposed to be a good plant to grow here in Florida or so IFAS says. This past spring I was determined to try to prove IFAS wrong. Lavender is so aromatic and relaxing. I want to be one of the first to successfully grow these woody plants here in the Florida heat and humidity. It could also be used to freshen the chicken coop. The soil is right, it is sandy and drains well with some acidity.
Here at "Fuss and Feathers" I began to research growing Lavender and discovered a newly developed variety from a cross breeding of two others by someone up in Pennsylvania. I remember it's a cross with the English variety. It's called "Phenomenal."
Phenomenal Lavender
I snatched up one Lavender plant at Lowes called "Elegance", they did not have many. I went back several times hoping for more. That first one I had purchased at Lowes as a test case has not done nearly as well as the "Phenomenal" variety. It still lives, but I think it gets to much sun.
Elegance Lavender
Calling around to several nurseries who had "Phenomenal" and also shipped out of state was disappointing, they were all sold out. I did however find six more plants at a local nursery not far down the road. Not sure if they realized they sold me their stock plants!
Lavender
I am happy to report all but one has survived, it was run over by a errant lawn mower just the other day. I have let the Bahia grass grow up around the little plants to keep shielded them from the sun during the summer. They seem to be flourishing and growing. We shall see if this trend continues...🐓
Thanks for Share! like your post and love it!
Thanks for stopping by and having a looksie🐓
Nice.
I tried to early start my lavender in some wickpots I made. But, only one started. I think I will try to clear out a space in the Wild Flower garden for the rest of the seeds next year. Hopefully they will get a chance to grow before the weeds take over again.
Thanks deanlogic. I wish you good luck with growing Lavender. Do you live in a cooler climate? I threw some wildflower seeds out and nothing happened.🐓
I threw out a lot of wildflower seeds and mostly weeds happened.
I'm in Hardiness Zone 7b.
I was hoping to grow a wall of lavender to keep the mosquitoes away from the rest of yard.
Lavender does well here, I use it in my kitchen in sugar, cookies and lemonade and also in the coop to repel bugs and to keep the ladies quarters smelling fresh haha :)
Never thought about the sugar, will have to try it that way. Sometimes I feel like rolling around in it to see if repels the darn mosquitos. I can run my fingers through the little plants and it smells like the flower.🐓
It's delicious in sugar and you can toss in the blooms towards the end of cooking chicken with some butter and coriander, soooo good!
It's great for mosquito bites ;) The plant itself not the chicken lol
😉😃🐓
I hope they do well for you! One of the best aromas in the universe!
I agree with you on the aroma it is heavenly, thanks aunt-deb🐓
It is true that Florida is probably too humid for growing lavender. It will likely die off in sections or have a shorter life span. Here in the Pacific Northwest, where we have a similar climate to Provence, France the lavender’s life span is 15-17 years! In Florida, you may have the best luck planting lavender in containers rather than in the ground where intense downpours will soak the soil. I have not grown ‘Phenomenal’ myself but have read great things about the aroma, hardiness and essential oil production from it, good luck!
We are down to 2 flourishing plants thanks to the othe 3 being mowed over. They are in very well drained soil. Surprisingly they have grown a couple of inches and look pretty good. We will see how they fare this winter when the weather is most dry here. If nothing else we may have to containerize them! Thanks for your suggestion. I hope we can find some more of the same variety. 🐓🐓