I have what I think is lavender. I tried to make a positive ID on the web but all the lavenders I found were small at maturity 2-3 feet. My lavender, if indeed lavender, is 20 feet tall and almost as round. The flower spikes about to bloom look very similar to pictures I've seen. Any ideas on my variety or where I can find some information?

This year I want to do something with all those lavender blooms. Any ideas? Any uses?

Thanks

I've never heard of lavender getting that large. Maybe it's a vitex shrub? They get pretty tall, tend to have a roundish shape, and have lavender colored flower spikes in Summer. If it's lavender, it's amazing.

OK it is a vitex. Can we grow lavender in central Texas? I may order or search in the nurseries. Thank you for helping ID this bush. I am going to learn more about it. The flower spikes smell nice so I'm going to bring some in. It must be a very close relative. The flower spikes are very similar to lavender.

Again thanks

Hi Pam!!!!!

Yes, lavender grows GREAT in central Texas! My sister's two specimens are hale and hearty again this year and growing fast. They have doubled in size each year, as mine have. Get some and enjoy it.

By the way, you probably already know this but lavender tends toward that nasty brown undergrowth in deep summer like tomatoes and artemesia. The good news is that you can eliminate that condition by mixing cornmeal into the soil when you plant yours. I have Muenster, French and Spanish lavender and love them fiercely. They are wonderful plants. They die back every winter but spring back and double in size every summer.

Kathe

Hey Kathe

Do yours flower? I read that they will grow like crazy but won't flower here. Thanks for the list of cultivars, I was having a hard time coming up with some that do well here.

My favorite herb! I live in Tennessee. They are not fond of heat and humidity but, I dig twenty dollar holes for my two dollar plants. Lots of sand for drainage. If you mulch with sand as well it will stave off fungus and increase the oil content as well. Mine grow beautifully for four or five years then fade out.

Yes I've read about the fungal problems but figured on using lots of cornmeal.

Pamzilla, sorry so long getting back to this thread. I had forgotten I posted on the ornamentals forum (usually just veggies and pest/disease). I have planted both French and Spanish lavenders here. The French variety didn't survive its first winter, but the Spanish does beautifully every year. I keep it in a spot where I replaced the clay soil with a red sandy soil and I never do anything to it at all. It takes the heat, the cold, and the rain during the winter months. It's just beginning to bloom now, but it will be covered in flowers before long, and the bees just love it.
I love Vitex also, and have a couple of them growing here. When I first saw the flowers, they reminded me of lilacs, but then it's been so long since I've seen a lilac that I could be mistaken, lol.

Thanks I will try the Spanish. I was under the impression that lavender was less able to tolerate the heat than the cold. Is this not true?

I am a lavender novice, so it was good to read all your comments. Last year I planted spanish lavender in a pot, because I thought they couldn't take our Dallas winters. In my experience, all plants do better in the ground if they can stand our Dallas summers and winters. If Spanish lavender doesn't freeze in winter, I think I'll transplant mine. It has those ugly brown ankles Kathe mentioned earlier. I was wondering how much I can cut them back when I transplant them.

Also, Kathe mentioned Muenster, French, and Spanish lavender. Are these cultivars the most hardy in our climate? Are there others?

Thx,
K

The lavenders I have grown take the heat well, but the French didn't survive Winter. Maybe there was something wrong with the plant otherwise, but it looked good going into Winter, and died back, never to return. The Spanish lavender I have is in full sun and doesn't seem to mind the heat.

Dragonfly,
Do you ever severely cut back your Spanish lavender?
Thx,
K

Actually, I considered cutting it back this year, but decided not to be too agressive. I probably cut it back to about half its size, and it's grown a bunch since then.

Hi,

I have five varieties of lavendar. A few of them that I purchased this year aren't labeled. However, my favorite is "Provence Lavendar". I planted it last summer ... it's beautiful and healthy. The stake states that it was sold by Terry's Herb Plant Farm in Canton, Texas.

I also have English Lavendar. All of mine have bloomed here in Central Texas.

Greetings, Tambar

Thanks for the info. What are your pruning practices--how much, what time of year, etc? I'm going to keep a watch out for Provence Lavender. If I can't find it, maybe I can find out from the grower who he sells to in the Dallas area.

Thx again,
K