Growing Spanish Lavender

A plant resembling Spanish lavender was described as “a small branching bush with thin numerous leaves, the flowers of a purple color gathered at the head of the stalk” by Greek botanist Pedanios Dioscorides in the first century AD.

Spanish lavender offers the home gardener many options for potpourris, sachets, grilling meats over hardwood charcoal, floral arrangements and some medicinal uses.

Flower description: Each Spanish lavender’s flower head is topped with a quaint indigo-purple topknot called bracts (not true petals). The Spanish lavender’s bracts look like a glorious purple-violet fluttering flame. The bracts of all species of Spanish lavender are much larger than the corollas (the true petals) along the flower head and some cultivars have bracts resembling a 3/4-inch-tall ribbon bow.

The flower heads resemble miniature squarish pineapples. The heads have small purplish-black flowers which open randomly all over the flower head. There are little orange-gold ‘eyes’ (actually a spot of pollen arranged in four rows which imitate little corn on the cobs.

Bloom period: In most climates the Spanish lavender blooms profusely in early summer, overlapping the English lavender’s bloom. In may climates, and especially in mild summer and winter areas, there may be a an early rush of bloom in mid-Spring, an early summer bloom and another flush of color in the fall. Occasional blossoms can be found almost every month except during the “dead of winter” in temperate-wintered areas.

Rain or sprinkler irrigation will knock over many or most flower stalks due the weight of the moisture on the bracts and the flower head. (Be sure to prune back hard after the peak summer bloom to encourage shorter and sturdier flower stems).

Plant and foliage description: Typically, Spanish lavender grows 18 inches tall, sometimes seedlings get almost 24 inches tall. Will often grow somewhat wider that its height. The narrow leaves are a soft gray-green with a slightly rolled over edge. The leaves are long, pointed and therefore somewhat resemble rosemary’s (Rosmarinus officinalis) foliage. The small foliage makes an interesting contrast with the abundance of bloom.

Hardiness and planting range: Spanish lavender is far less hardy than the benchmark English species. While English lavender can tolerate, under the best of conditions, down to -25o F, Spanish lavender is only reliably hardy to about 20o F. This corresponds roughly to Zones 9 through 11 on the USDA climate map. In my garden the ten-year low of three nights down to about 15o F—during a moist period—froze back most Spanish lavenders to the ground— some plants regrew from the crown of the roots. Others rate this species down to 5 degrees. Remember, the drier the air during a cold spell, the greater the damage or damage will occur at a higher temperature.

BIO: Robert Kourik's books, blogs, and articles bring science to gardening. He has designed gardens for three decades and is a pioneer of edible landscaping, the art of growing food plants among ornamental plants.  He works throughout California and the country. Visit Robert's blog Garden Roots or go here to buy his books.