French Lavender – How To Grow It Like A Pro

French lavender has earned its place as a staple in the garden due to its camphor aroma and timeless beauty.

Whether you’re into aromatherapy, cosmetics, or simply enjoy its beauty, growing French lavender can be a simple yet satisfying endeavor.

In this article, we’ll dive deep into everything you need to know about how to grow this diverse plant.

Is French Lavender Edible?

Yes, French lavender is edible.

However, while French lavender is perfectly safe to eat, there is little to be desired when it comes to the culinary uses of it.

French lavender is very high in camphor, a compound that causes a strong, herbaceous flavor profile that most will find too intense.

Description

How Big Does French Lavender Grow

French lavender’s size can depend on the specific cultivar.

Generally speaking, you can anticipate your French lavender to grow between 23 to 36 inches in height and 23 to 27 inches in width.

French Lavender Flowering Period

The flowers of the French lavender plant begin to bloom starting in the late spring.

Depending on your particular climate, you can expect these blooms to continue throughout the summer and sometimes even into the fall and winter.

French Lavender Zone

As a native to the warm Mediterranean region of Europe, French lavender is hardy to zones 8 through 11.

However, French lavender is capable of withstanding some cooler zones as long as they have proper winter care.

Spanish Lavender Vs. French Lavender

While they are both members of the Lavandula genus, both Spanish and French lavender have very distinct differences that separate these two varieties.

Let’s break them down below:

Appearance:

Spanish lavender features showy bracts that resemble rabbit ears at the top of its flower spikes.

Additionally, Spanish lavender leaves tend to be smoother in appearance.

As opposed to French lavender which has serrated leaves, giving it its signature textured look.

French lavender’s growth habit tends to be bushier and more relaxed.

Growing Conditions:

Spanish lavender generally favors hotter climate conditions and has a high capacity for drought compared to French lavender.

French Lavender Care

Caring for French lavender is easy yet very satisfying as long as gardeners meet their basic growing requirements.

Keep reading to discover how to care for French lavender!

Sun Requirements

French lavender thrives in a sunny environment.

In order to ensure that your plants are receiving an adequate level of sun, place your lavender in a location that receives at least 6 to 8 hours of sun per day.

Soil

Like many lavender plants, French lavender has a preference for poorer soil conditions and do not fare well in saturated, high-nutrient soil.

We highly recommend dry, well-draining, and alkaline soil in pH.

Water

French lavender prefers to live in droughty conditions that mimic their native Mediterranean home.

You won’t have to water your lavender frequently except for periods of extreme heat and drought.

A good rule of thumb is to wait until the soil has dried before rehydrating your plant.

Temperature Tolerance

This type of lavender has a preference for warm temperatures that are reminiscent of the Mediterranean.

They like dry, warm, sunny climates.

French lavender cannot tolerate extreme cold and snow. They are tolerable of mild winters as long as they are properly overwintered.

Fertilizer

Because this type of lavender prefers poorer soil conditions, there is no need to fertilize these plants.

In fact, fertilizer can actually be a hinderance to the growth of it.

We suggest skipping the fertilizer routine; your plant will get everything it needs from the sun, soil, and water.

How To Prune French Lavender

Pruning French lavender is a necessity for ensuring the growth pattern and shape of the lavender plant.

Here are some tips for pruning successfully:

To maintain a compact and neat appearance, trim the overall size of the plant by cutting back about one third of its height.

This helps prevent the lavender from becoming too leggy and encourages bushy, full growth.

Do not trim any more than one-third of the plant’s size; trimming too much can cause slower growth.

Try to avoid cutting into the woody parts of the stems, as the lavender will not produce new growth from older wood.

Focus on pruning the green, leafy portions as these will yield new branch growth and contribute to a fuller-looking plant.

Remove any dead, diseased, or unproductive branches to promote overall health.

Good air flow is crucial for preventing fungal diseases.

When To Prune French Lavender

If you live in an area with mild winters, prune your French lavender in the fall when the blooming season has passed.

In other areas, pruning should be done in the early spring before the blooming season begins.

Additionally, you may want to sparingly prune the flowers throughout the blooming season in order to encourage continuous flower growth.

How To Prune French Lavender In Spring

Pruning lavender in the spring is meant to remove any unnecessary growth in order to make way for new, productive branches.

Trim your French lavender by about one third of its overall size, only cutting into the newer green branches.

Avoid cutting into the old, woody stems.

Additionally, cut any branches that appear dead or diseased as these will only hinder plant production.

How To Deadhead French Lavender

Deadheading, which is the removal of wilting flowers, is an effective pruning method to help encourage continuous blooming and maintain the appearance of your French lavender plant.

Here are some tips:

Deadhead the French lavender’s flowers after the initial bloom, which typically occurs in late spring or early summer.

Closely examine the lavender plant for fading flowers; these are the ones that have finished blooming and may appear dull in color.

Position the shears just above a set of healthy leaves or a leaf node.

Make an angled cut to remove the spent flowers. This encourages new growth to form in its stead.

How To Prepare French Lavender For Winter

For those living in cooler climates with a mild-to-moderate winter, protecting your French lavender is essential for preserving its health and longevity.

The first step is to protect the roots underneath the soil.

This can be done by layering a protective mulch around the base of your plants.

Mulching will both regulate the internal soil temperature as well as retain moisture.

Opt for an organic mulch such as wood bark, pine needles, or leaves.

If your winters are more moderate and prone to frost, it would benefit you to cover your lavender plant in a burlap covering to act as a physical barrier from the frost and chilly winds.

While French lavender is tolerant of drought (and mulch will help keep the soil moist for longer), it is still important to sparingly water your lavender through the winter.

French Lavender Care In Pots

Growing French lavender in pots has few differences compared to in-ground plants, but these differences make a world of difference.

Here are some things you must know about growing it in pots:

When selecting the right soil for your French lavender, please keep in mind that container soil needs to have more well-draining materials as opposed to in-ground soil.

Most commercially sold container soil has an abundance of chunky material such as perlite or vermiculite in order to increase drainage and allow for better air and water flow.

Potted plants tend to dry out faster than in-ground plants.

While French lavender doesn’t mind droughty conditions, it can be easy to let your plant dry out too much.

Check your potted lavender on a weekly basis to monitor its moisture levels. This is especially important in the hottest parts of the summer where water becomes more of a necessity.

If you live in an area with moderate-to-severe winters, then potted French lavender is the way to go.

This will make overwintering significantly more convenient.

Simply move your potted lavender into the home where it can stay warm.

How To Harvest French Lavender

The best time to harvest French lavender is when the flowers are in full bloom.

If possible, we suggest waiting for a dry day to harvest your lavender.

Additionally, it is best to harvest in the morning when the essential oils are at their highest.

Using your pruning shears, snip the branch just above a healthy set of leaves or a node.

Do take care not to cut into the woody stems. Instead, go for the newer, green branches.

French Lavender Uses

French lavender is primarily used for its strong aroma.

The high presence of camphor in this type of lavender gives it a very robust, pine scent.

Because of this, you are likely to find French lavender as the basis for many cleaning products.

In addition, French lavender essential oil plays a role in aromatherapy.

The strong scent of lavender can have calming and soothing properties and could be a natural stress reliever.

Dried lavender flower is also a popular choice for potpourri, room spray, and scented candles and cosmetics.

French lavender is safe to eat, but some find the strong camphor flavor to be too intense for culinary purposes.

The Best French Lavender Varieties

Lavandula dentata “dentata”

Description:

Lavandula dentata is a shrub that grows between 30 cm and 1 meter. The branches and leaves are gray-green and the flowers are purple. Strong aroma due to the presence of camphor.

Growing conditions:

Grows best in full sun to partial shade. Tolerant of drought.

Uses:

Harvested for its camphor fragrance. Also used as hedges in the garden.

USDA zone:

8 to 11

Lavandula dentata “candicans”

Description:

A shrub that grows between 30 cm to 1 meter tall. The branches and leaves are gray. Its flowers are pale lavender-blue