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Lavender, Fernleaf

. Lavandula multifida. One of the most unusual lavenders. At first glance this does not appear to be a lavender at all. Finely cut green leaves highlight this sprawling 24 inch high plant with multiple bright blue flowers. The aroma is decidedly unlavender-like, almost like turpentine.

Lavender, Goodwin Creek Grey

. Lavandula x ginginsii 'Goodwin Creek Grey'. This recent hybrid (L. dentata x L. lanata) has delightful silver-green, fuzzy, serrated leaves, a sweet odor, and dark blue flowers. Plants can reach 24 inches high and as round.

Lavender, Gray Fringed

. Lavandula dentata 'Candicans'. Identical to green fringed lavender except for its gray-green foliage. L. dentata grows wild in southern France, Spain, Portugal, and Saudi Arabia. Excellent pot plant. Height to 3 feet and as wide. Space on 2 to 3-foot centers.

Lavender, Green Fringed

. Lavandula dentata var. dentata. Sometimes called French lavender. Saw-toothed green foliage is complemented by an unusual but recognizably lavender fragrance. Instead of clustering along the stem, tiny lilac petals appear around a fat, green inflorescence, topped by two light purple bracts. Excellent pot plant. Height 2 to 3 feet in flower and as wide. Space on 2 to 3-foot centers.

Lavender, Herb Companion

. Lavandula dentata 'Linda Ligon'. Our own introduction. This is a sport of green fringed lavender with a creamy, irregular leaf variation. It is named after the founder of The Herb Companion magazine. English lavender fanciers believe this is the first variegated lavender in the world. An excellent pot plant. Height to about 3 feet. Space outdoors on 2 to 3-foot centers.

Lavender, Sweet

. Lavandula x hybrida.(L. dentata x L. latifolia.). This hybrid is a cross between L. dentata and L. latifolia. Sweet lavender is fast-growing, and richly scented. Distinguished by its large, gray-green leaves, many of which are toothed. It is topped with a traditional lavender flower spike on which dark blue flowers climb. Height to 3 feet and as round. Space on 3 to 4-foot centers. Makes a good pot plant.

. Lavandula stoechas 'Boysenberry Ruffles'. USPP#18256. This Australian hybrid is characterized by blooming earlier than the species. Plants are fairly compact at about 24 inches tall. Flowers have purple heads with lavender and white ears and sit atop short stems. Ears appear a bit fuller than Mulberry Ruffles

. Lavandula stoechas 'Mulberry Ruffles'. USPP #18295. This Australian hybrid is characterized by blooming earlier than the species. Plants are fairly compact at about 24 inches tall. Flowers have purple heads with rose and white ears and sit atop short stems.

Lavender, Spanish

. Lavandula stoechas. Probably the most unusual flower of any lavender. Two large purple bracts protrude like wings from a small egg-shaped bud atop a single stem, giving the effect of a fat-bodied butterfly. Light green, narrow foliage on a plant about 18 inches high. Leaves are nicely perfumed. Hardy to 10°F.

Lavender, Spanish

. Lavandula stoechas 'Otto Quast'. The rosy plum purple flowers of this named cultivar have butterfly wings or rabbit ears (actually sterile bracts on the top of the flower) that are generally larger than the species.

• Before You Visit Us
  • This is not an availability list!
    Please call to check our supply before you visit.
    

    This catalog lists most of the varieties I am growing or plan to grow, however, it is not possible to list everything. Some plants are tricky to propagate; others are too new for me to describe in any detail. Demand for certain varieties is sometimes greater than I anticipated and we run out. Usually, during the Spring season, there is another crop on the way.

    
    

    I can guarantee the quality of our plants because we grow them ourselves. I cannot guarantee that every item listed will be available at any given time.
    
    

• About Our Lavender
  • About Our Lavender

    When gardeners talk about hardy lavender, they often want to know plant height and flower color. Those are important considerations, but the season of bloom is often overlooked. We have grouped our selection to highlight this important varietal difference. Through careful selection, a gardener may have lavender blooming all summer.

    Although grown for their fragrance and color, lavender is used sparingly in teas, to flavor meats, and in some desserts. Hardy lavender are able to withstand temperatures below 0°F. For best growth they require at least four hours of direct sun but prefer sun all day.

    Our soils are often heavy clay and should be amended with sphagnum peat or compost. A common problem with our soils is also high acidity (low pH),a condition that may stunt or even kill lavender which require a pH of 6.4 to 8.

    Height will vary with the variety. In our area, plants should be spaced far enough apart to allow excellent air circulation. Do not plant lavender in an area with poor drainage, or watered by an automatic sprinkler system. Lavender detests wet roots or wet foliage, especially during periods of high heat.

    Keep plants compact and finely shaped by pruning them each spring as new growth begins. By removing one-third to one-half the length of each stem at this time, new growth is encouraged that will also produce more flowers per plant. A 2-inch deep mulch of coarse sand or light-colored, pea-sized gravel on top of the soil underneath the plant aids growth, increases flower and essential oil production, protects against disease, and prevents winter damage.

    You will notice that two of the best known lavender, 'Hidcote' and 'Munstead', are absent from our listing. Recent research has found that for all their ubiquity in catalogs and garden centers, true 'Munstead' and true 'Hidcote' are rare in America. Although eloquently praised for their stature and flowers over the past 50 years, other worthwhile cultivars have been virtually ignored by plantsmen and garden writers.

    Perhaps excessive demand for these diminutive, slow growing plants prompted nurserymen to offer seed and seed-grown plants to the unsuspecting public. Lavender plants propagated from seed vary considerably from the parent and exhibit a wide range of plant size and flower color in a single generation. This careless and irresponsible practice has continued for so long that 'Munstead' may no longer exist in its originally described form. According to Dr. Arthur O. Tucker, virtually all plants labeled in nurseries as 'Munstead' should be renamed 'Compacta', a catch-all name for seed grown varieties. I have in my personal collection several plants of true 'Hidcote'. Unfortunately, it may take several years to produce enough to actually list for sale.

    Many newer varieties, some selected from such seedling variants and renamed, are more reliable in our climate, offer longer periods of bloom, or are much more exciting as garden plants than are these two old standbys.

    Although we rarely run out of lavender entirely, our selection of varieties is generally best around May 1. Occasionaly, crop failures of certain varieties occur . Please call for availabiltiy.

• Growing Herbs Indoors
  • Growing Herbs Indoors
    In general, the rules for growing most house plants also apply to herbs indoors. If you are successful in skirting a few rules with your plants now, it is likely you can do the same with your herbs.

    • Air. Your herbs will thrive in a temperature between 65° to 70°F, about what is comfortable to you. Avoid rooms that are stuffy and have stale air. Herbs like fresh, moving air but not drafts; humidity is best around 50 percent.
    • Soil. For your container potting mix, forget about soil. A soil-less medium of one part sphagnum peat moss and one part perlite makes a good mixture for herbs. If you prepare your own mix, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of horticultural lime per quart of mix; peat can be quite acid and the lime sweetens the mix. Stir ingredients while dry and dampen the medium before planting. Soil-less media with natural ingredients, but without soil, have been tested on herbs and found to be superior to other potting soils. For years we have used Pro-Mix BX, a commercial soil-less medium, with excellent results.
    • Water. Watering is not as tricky and mysterious as you may have been led to believe. Here are a few general rules which might improve your green thumb: Don't let the pot sit in water and drown the herb's roots. During warm weather and rapid growth, plants are more tolerant of water. When the air is cool and light is poor, go easy with water and allow the surface of the soil to dry between watering. Water temperature should match air temperature. A fan moving air around and over your potted herbs will help dry the growing medium.
    • Pots. Containers come in many sizes, shapes, colors and materials. I like plastic because it is light and cheap. Plants do not dry as quickly in plastic as they do in clay pots which can be a disadvantage during winter. Don't worry about stones or broken crockery in the bottom when the pot has lots of drainage holes; the stones actually hinder drainage and are a bad idea. Pot your herbs in a container 2 inches larger than the one it is transplanted from. Don't put a small plant in a huge pot, the roots cannot use all that moisture and they are likely to rot quickly. Because plants grow at different rates, planters with several different types of herbs will need careful attention; it is sometimes better to use the planter to hold individual pots which can make individual transplanting easier. You can keep your plants smaller by leaving them in small pots, but this restriction of growth means less foliage and it can harm the plant. When roots begin to fill the pot and circle its sides, it is time to transplant. Yellowing leaves or shedding leaves sometimes indicates the plant is pot bound.
    • Light. Most herbs need 5 hours of full sun for optimum growth. Only a few herbs will grow well without direct sunlight. Don't despair if you lack a south facing, sunny window. Herbs will often adjust to less than the best conditions. A fluorescent light garden is one way to give your herbs and other plants near perfect light conditions. Commercially available 'Grow Lites' can be used but are more expensive. Fluorescent tubes should be no more than 3 to 5 inches above plant tops. Use 4 cool white tubes for each 10 inches of table width. Lights can be used to supplement natural sunlight. Use a timer to provide a total (sun and fluorescent) photo period of 12-14 hours.
    • Food. It's better to give your herbs a little food often (every week at half strength, for instance) than a lot all at once. A slow release fertilizer like Osmocote 14-14-14 works well. If your pots are small and you like liquid fertilizers, choose a 10-10-10 or a 20-10-20 formula. Keep in mind that when you water more often, you should also feed your plants more often. Organic fertilizers such as fish emulsion are excellent for soil-less potting media.
• Pruning Herb Plants
  • Pruning Herb Plants
    for Use and Health

    Four types of pruning are often used on potted herb plants (particularly rosemary and lavender) to enhance appearance and health. Some knowledge of each will make cultivation more successful, especially if the herbs are grown in containers. Sharp pruning shears, knives, or scissors are used, depending on the thickness of the stems to be cut.

    • Pruning for shape. Some pruning will be required to keep any rosemary shapely, but the variety's growth habit dictates how much. Rosemary plants can be pruned to almost any shape but the most popular are globes and columns; the variety sometimes lends itself to one or the other shape, but rigorous pruning can overcome any plant's inclinations. The best time to prune for shape is when the plant is in full growth (in our area this is spring and summer); this will provide the plant enough time to recover before the rigors of winter. Remove the amount of stem necessary to create the shape you desire but try not to remove more than half the stem length. Leave some green leaves on the branch that is left. Pruning for shape is essential for rosemary grown into topiary forms. During periods of optimum growth such forms may need pruning every few weeks. When light levels are low indoors, pruning is useful to keep stems from becoming leggy.
    • Pruning for health. Winter damage and disease are another reasons to prune. Dead wood caused by winter cold should be removed in early spring. Cut damaged stems back to green leaves or if the stem is dead, remove it. Fungus disease sometimes attacks low-lying branches and the inside of the plant where air circulation and light are poor; this is a particular problem in humid climates or when there is an unusual amount of rain. Lower branches that have dead leaves on them should be removed so that air can circulate under and through the plant to dry dampness. A mulch of several inches of sand or pea gravel dries quickly and radiates drying heat into the plant and is helpful to control diseases.
    • Pruning for use. The most enjoyable pruning is for use. Snip branch tips to use when needed; no special method or procedure is necessary and it may be done at any time of year. Fresh growth, rather than hard, woody stems is best. Performed shrewdly, this pruning will shape your plant and keep it healthy.
    • Root pruning. Pruning the roots of container-grown plants is a last resort; it revives and reinvigorates root bound plants when larger pots are unavailable. Root pruning is best performed in mid-spring after the plant has been outside for several weeks and soft indoor winter growth has been removed or has stiffened. After the plant is knocked from the pot, take a sharp knife and remove the bottom third of the root ball; then slice several inches from the sides. Add fresh growing medium to the container and return the plant, being careful to work the medium around the edges of the root ball. The root-pruned plant is likely to show some stress in the form of wilting at this time. A protective spray of Wilt-Pruf will help less foliage dehydration. Keep the plant in a spot sheltered from direct sun for a week before returning it to a sunny exposure.
• Transplanting Herbs Outdoors
  • Transplanting Herbs Outdoors

    Your plants have been carefully grown in my greenhouses and selected for form and vigor. Before you transplant them to the garden they should be conditioned to ready them for outdoor survival by a process horticulturists call 'hardening off'.

    When you bring your plants home and outdoor temperatures are above 40°F, keep them outside in a partly sunny spot (direct sun can sometimes burn tender plant tissue) protected from wind. Bring the plants inside if temperatures are expected to drop below 40°F. After four to seven days of this regimen, the plants should be hardened enough to transplant outside. Less water should be given the plants during this treatment, but care should be taken to keep the plants from wilting. A weak solution of liquid fertilizer, applied to the plant at the time of transplanting, will also help get it off to a good start.

    Early transplanting calls for vigilance by the gardener and attention to weather forecast. Danger of a frost or freeze means measures must be taken to protect the young transplants. Poly spun row covers (like Reemay) will provide up to 4°F of protection. Wall O' Water is an excellent choice for protecting tender plants as well as warming the soil prior to planting. Properly installed, the Wall O' Water can give up to 10°F of protection. Both are available here at the nursery. Effective, home-made devices can be constructed from old plastic milk containers or styrofoam cups with the bottoms removed. An old sheet or blanket will also do in a pinch.

    Although no special equipment is necessary to harden off your plants, a cold frame will be helpful. A cold frame is nothing more than a protective structure with a glass or plastic top that will open and shut. Sides may be of wood, masonry, straw, bundled newspapers, or poly sheeting stapled to a wooden frame. The top is usually slanted (usually towards the south) so that it will catch the sun and drain rain water away from the structure. The cold frame protects young seedlings and transplants from the ravages of spring wind and unsettled cold weather. Seedlings are hardened off for a week or two in such a structure to stiffen their stems and adjust them to temperature fluctuations that did not exist indoors on your window sill, under your grow lights, or inside the greenhouse, where conditions are ideal and encourage soft growth.

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