White Acres Farm Olives and Lavender from the Texas Hill Country
Again I would like to say that I am not an expert in lavender growing. I can only give advice from what I have learned as a lavender farmer in the Texas Hill Country.
I would recommend a few of my favorite varieties to grow in our area. One should check with the local nurseries and farms in your area to find the right varieties for your soil and climate.
When we planted our lavender we chose Grosso for our main field. We already made some products with Spike lavender in them. Grosso is the closest varietal that would be the same in scent and strength as the Spike. I had also had some experience in trying to grow the most popular variety Provence and had not had any luck with it. In my own experience, Grosso seems to be a little more tolerant of fluctuations in water and weather.
Grosso is a lavendula x-intermedia, which means it is a cross between two varieties, because of the cross it is cultivated by cuttings only. It is a robust plant that can grow to three feet in diameter with long spikes surrounding the plant in a 180 degree fashion. This variety is very canphorous in scent. This is a variety of lavender that is used in soaps and detergents. We use it in our bugg’r off bug spray. It also has very nice spikes of flowers that are nice for dried crafts. Gosso takes about 3 years to have a full production of flowers. We are still waiting for ours to bloom.
Munstead is another variety that I would recommend for our area. It is an english variety. Munstead is from the Angustafolia family of lavender.It is true to seed and can be grown from a seed, although I don’t recommend it. The Munstead plant will grow to be about 2.5 feet with very vibriant blue flowers on short stalks. It is considered a culinary variety. It has a light but sweet lavender scent and flavor. This is my favorite variety. It will bloom a few flowers the first year.
I also would recommend the Otto Quast, Lavendula Stoechas, sometimes refereed to as Spanish Lavender. This variety is mainly used for ornamental. It is a medium size plant with shorter, smaller leaves and the flowers look as if they have butterflies on top of them. I don’t think they are very impressive in the nonflowering months. But they are a very vibrant fucia when they are in bloom. This variety seems to tolerate fluctuations in weather very well. This also blooms the first year.
One other variety that I would recommend would be the Sweet Lavender this is the common name for this plant. It is a variety that seems to do well in our area also. It has the same growing tendency as the Grosso but the flowers are a little different. I think this plant is more of an ornamental also. I believe the Sweet Lavender will bloom the first year.
When planting lavender one should make a raised area to plant into. We did raised rows. We have lots of rocks in our soil so the soil doesn’t wash away. We didn’t mulch our plants because it is a very large field, but I suppose in a smaller garden it could be done. The variety of Lavender we are growing likes basic soils, we have lots of limestone in our soil. It also likes drainage. One of the main reasons people kill lavender is because they over water it. Someone once told me that the rule of thumb on planting lavender is to water once a day for a week, once a week for a month and then once a month there after. It seemed to have worked for us so this is what I tell my customers that purchase plants from me.
Lavender does need a good rain to develop full blooms. It also needs some chilling hours for flower production. We amend with sea tea and molassas when we can through our drip irrigation. Texas weather is so unpredictable. My own personal experince with lavender has made me come to believe that it should have some compost or compost tea added to replenish the soil especially after the growing a bloom cycle. We add horse manure from ours and other local farms. Horse manure can be used sooner than most manures and will not burn the plants as others do.
Weed control is an ongoing battle. the first year we weeded the whole acre, between the rows and all. The second year we weeded the rows and used the weed eater between. This seems to help the plants get a head start. Next year we will probably do the same.
Lavender needs to be trimmed after the bloom cycle to promote growth for the next flowering season. About 1/3 of the plant should be trimmed. We didn’t trim the first year. This last fall I let my sheep do the trimming for me. They ate the grass down, then the weeds and then they moved in on the lavender. It was actually nice because they trimmed just the right amount off, and I didn’t have to go out to do the trimming.
I hope that this is informational. Good luck to all and don’t hesitate to ask me questions. I will try to answer them to the best of my knowledge. Happy Planting!
WELCOME
765 Astral Point
Spring Branch, TX 78070
1-866-883-4236
