Overview

Introduce the timeless elegance and captivating fragrance of the Mediterranean to your garden with this healthy lavender provence plug plant. This live starter plant, also known as French Lavender (Lavandula x intermedia ‘Provence’), is celebrated for its vigorous growth, abundant deep purple-blue flowers, and intensely aromatic foliage. It’s an excellent choice for gardeners looking to establish a beautiful, drought-tolerant, and fragrant herb garden. Our lavender provence plug plant arrives well-rooted and ready for planting, offering an easy start to cultivating this beloved herb. Perfect for creating fragrant hedges, borders, or adding to your culinary herb collection, ‘Provence’ lavender is a versatile and rewarding plant.

The ‘Provence’ cultivar is particularly noted for its strong, sweet fragrance and its suitability for essential oil production, sachets, and culinary applications. This french lavender starter is a hybrid lavender, offering the best characteristics of both English and Spike lavenders, including a long blooming season and tolerance to various climates. Begin your lavender journey with a robust starter that promises a bounty of beauty and scent.

Key Benefits

Growing a lavender provence plug plant offers numerous advantages, from its aesthetic appeal to its practical uses. This plant is not just beautiful but also brings a host of benefits to your home and garden.

• Aromatic Fragrance: Enjoy the classic, calming scent of lavender that fills the air, perfect for creating a relaxing atmosphere in your garden or home. The strong fragrance is also known to deter pests.
• Beautiful Blooms: Produces abundant, long-lasting spikes of deep purple flowers throughout the summer, adding vibrant color and texture to any landscape.
• Drought-Tolerant: Once established, ‘Provence’ lavender is highly drought-resistant, requiring minimal watering and making it an ideal choice for water-wise gardening.
• Culinary & Medicinal Uses: The flowers and leaves can be used in cooking, baking, teas, and for making essential oils, sachets, and potpourri, offering both flavor and therapeutic properties.
• Attracts Pollinators: A magnet for bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators, enhancing biodiversity in your garden.
• Low Maintenance: This hardy plant requires relatively little care once established, making it suitable for both experienced and novice gardeners interested in growing provence lavender.
• Versatile Landscaping: Ideal for hedges, borders, rock gardens, containers, or as a standalone specimen, providing flexibility in garden design.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

To ensure your lavender provence plug plant thrives, understanding its specific care requirements is crucial. Lavender ‘Provence’ is a relatively easy-to-grow herb, provided its basic needs for light, soil, and water are met.

Sunlight requirements: Lavender needs abundant sunshine. Plant your french lavender starter in a location that receives at least 6-8 hours of direct full sun daily. More sun exposure generally leads to more prolific blooms and a stronger fragrance. Insufficient light can result in leggy growth and fewer flowers. For best results with growing provence lavender, choose the sunniest spot available in your garden or on your patio.

Watering schedule and soil moisture preferences: The most common mistake in lavender care is overwatering. While young plugs need consistently moist (but not soggy) soil for the first 1-2 weeks to establish, mature plants are highly drought-tolerant. Allow the top 1-2 inches of soil to dry out completely between waterings. Deep, infrequent watering is preferred over shallow, frequent watering. Overwatering can lead to root rot and yellowing leaves.

Soil type and drainage requirements: Excellent drainage is paramount for lavender. ‘Provence’ lavender thrives in sandy, rocky, or gritty loam soils. The ideal pH range is 6.5-7.5, which is neutral to slightly alkaline. Avoid heavy clay soils that retain too much moisture, as lavender roots are highly sensitive to excessive wetness. Amending heavy soils with sand, grit, or compost can improve drainage significantly. These lavender care tips are vital for plant health.

Temperature range and USDA hardiness zone: ‘Provence’ lavender is hardy in USDA Zones 5-9. It performs exceptionally well in hot summers and is more tolerant of humidity than many English lavender varieties. Protect young plants from severe frost during their initial weeks after planting. Once established, it can withstand cold winters within its hardiness zones.

Fertilization schedule and type: Lavender generally prefers lean soil and does not require heavy fertilization. An annual application of a balanced, slow-release granular fertilizer in early spring can be beneficial, but avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers, which can promote leafy growth at the expense of flowers. Over-fertilization can also harm the plant. For specific lavender care tips regarding nutrients, a soil test can be helpful.

Common problems and solutions: The primary issues for lavender are usually related to overwatering and poor drainage, leading to root rot. Ensure proper soil conditions and watering practices to prevent this. Pests are generally not a major problem due to lavender’s strong scent, but watch for aphids or whiteflies and treat with insecticidal soap if necessary.

Size & Details

This offering is for one healthy lavender provence plug plant, a live starter plant that is well-rooted and ready for transplanting into your garden or a larger pot. The plant typically measures between 1 to 3 inches tall upon arrival, representing a strong young specimen poised for vigorous growth. It is shipped in a nursery pot, ensuring the root ball is protected and hydrated during transit. Expect this french lavender starter to grow into a substantial shrub, reaching mature dimensions of approximately 2-3 feet in height and 2-4 feet in width. Its moderate growth rate means you will see significant development within the first growing season, with full maturity and abundant blooms typically achieved in 1-2 years. The plant will arrive without flowers, as it is a young starter, but with proper care according to our lavender care tips, you can anticipate beautiful blooms in its first or second year.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big will my lavender provence plug plant get? A: A mature ‘Provence’ lavender plant typically grows to about 2-3 feet tall and spreads 2-4 feet wide. Your starter plug will arrive 1-3 inches tall and will grow quickly with proper care.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: This lavender provence plug plant is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in full sun. While it can be grown indoors temporarily in a very sunny window, it performs best when planted in the garden or in outdoor containers.
• Q: How much sunlight does this lavender need? A: ‘Provence’ lavender requires at least 6-8 hours of direct, full sunlight per day to produce the most blooms and strongest fragrance. Ensure it’s in the sunniest spot possible.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, once established, ‘Provence’ lavender is considered low-maintenance and drought-tolerant. The most important aspects of lavender care tips are providing full sun and well-draining soil to prevent overwatering.
• Q: What condition will my french lavender starter arrive in? A: Your plant will arrive as a healthy, well-rooted plug, typically 1-3 inches tall, in a small nursery pot. It will be a young starter and will not have flowers upon arrival.
• Q: Can I use this lavender for cooking? A: Absolutely! ‘Provence’ lavender is a popular culinary variety. Its flowers and leaves can be used in teas, desserts, savory dishes, and for making aromatic sachets.
• Q: When is the best time to plant this lavender? A: The best time to plant your lavender provence plug plant is in the spring after the last frost, or in early fall in warmer climates. This allows the plant to establish its root system before extreme temperatures.
• Q: Will this lavender survive winter in my zone? A: ‘Provence’ lavender is hardy in USDA Zones 5-9. If you are within these zones and provide proper drainage, your plant should successfully overwinter. Protect young plants from severe early frosts.
• Q: What type of soil does ‘Provence’ lavender prefer? A: This variety thrives in very well-draining soil, such as sandy, rocky, or gritty loam. It prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil (pH 6.5-7.5) and is intolerant of heavy, wet, or clay soils.
• Q: How often should I water my new lavender plug? A: For the first 1-2 weeks after planting, keep the soil slightly moist but never soggy. Once established, water deeply but infrequently, allowing the soil to dry out completely between waterings. This is a crucial lavender care tip.