Content
- Lavender as ground cover - Fragrant change from the horticultural monotony
- Plant lavender on the ground
- Suitable lavender varieties
- Maintain lavender hedges
- Tips & Tricks
Lavender as ground cover - Fragrant change from the horticultural monotony
Almost everyone knows the lush purple flowering, endlessly appearing lavender fields from Provence. In Germany, lavender can also be planted as a hedge or even as a groundcover.
Plant lavender on the ground
Although lavender is not a classic ground cover - after all, the plant naturally grows in height and does not creep along the ground - but can still be planted covering the ground. As a result, you will be able to breed a more or less low hedge, which is wonderful as a border for beds or as Wegbegrenzung. In order to reach this goal, you need between 12 and 16 plants per square meter that you plant in as even a distance as possible. The best planting time is the late spring or early summer. Winter hardy lavender varieties can also be used in August. Before you get to work, however, you should first check the soil conditions in your garden. Lavender needs sandy to stony, nutrient-poor soil. Heavy loam or peat soils, however, are less suitable. In addition, the lavender is a sun lover and prefers a full sun.
Suitable lavender varieties
The low-growing lavender species of the winter-hardy species "Lavandula angustifolia", the so-called true lavender, are particularly suitable as groundcover. Varieties such as "Hidecote Blue", "Peter Pan" or "Dwarf Blue" are only between 25 to about 40 inches high. They are not only in the typical lavender blue, but also in white or pink flowering.
Maintain lavender hedges
Lavender is a perennial shrub that tends to lignify. So that you enjoy your hedge for many years, you should take care of it accordingly. Lavender shrubs should be cut at least once, better twice a year. Otherwise, they will flatter and literally fall apart. Cut your plants down by about two thirds in the spring - in good weather when possible already in March - but without cutting into the old wood. A second cut is then made in summer, at the beginning of August at the latest, when the shrubs gradually fade. This second, not so drastic, pruning stimulates the plants to a second flowering.
Tips & Tricks
Many people would like to place lavender covered in lavender between their roses to keep aphids and ants away from them and to control the weeds. Unfortunately, roses and lavender do not tolerate due to the very different demands on care and soil conditions. The weeds can also be a problem, because the lavender does not keep this away. Instead, you have to weed regularly.
IJA