Digging deeperPlant Library

Other Names:  English Lavender, Common Lavender

Group/Class:  Ellagance Series

Description:

A beautiful and aromatic flowering shrub covered with volumes of deep purple blooms through summer, excellent choice for low, informal hedging and in borders and formal gardens; plant near doors and walkways where the lovely scent can be appreciated

Ornamental Features

Ellagance Purple Lavender has masses of beautiful spikes of fragrant deep purple flowers rising above the foliage from early to late summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has attractive grayish green evergreen foliage. The fragrant needles are highly ornamental and turn coppery-bronze in the fall, which persists throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Ellagance Purple Lavender is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Ellagance Purple Lavender is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Herb Gardens
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Ellagance Purple Lavender will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity extending to 16 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 14 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for alkaline soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Ellagance Purple Lavender makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.