It’s here! A truly cold hardy heat loving lavender that takes what winter can throw at it and keeps its lovely sage colored silvery green foliage all winter long. Most gardeners grow lavender for its fragrant flower spikes, but you are going to enjoy the fragrant foliage on this one as well as the winter-long interest it will provide you. Hardy well into the upper tier of the Lower 48 states, and persisting in all but the hottest portions of the South, gardeners everywhere will enjoy this amazingly tough but beautiful cross of English and Portuguese lavender.
Bright blue/purple flower spikes approaching 5 inches in length wave on top of silvery green foliage and look absolutely stunning when massed out in your landscape or garden bed. They provide an incredible backdrop for bright colored perennials as well (think poppies and perennial phlox). Native to countries that border the Mediterranean Sea, lavender grows in the mountainous regions in dry, relatively poor soils in Zones 4 to 9. With careful location selection, you, too, can grow lavender successfully.
Phenomenal Lavender Care
Because of this beautiful cultivar’s parentage, Phenomenal is an easy to care for perennial plant. With its fire and ice kind of habitat tolerance, you can now plant in regions that have hot humid summers just as easily as you can plant it in some of the toughest winter regions. Plant this heat lover in full sun for best results. Well draining soil is a must for lavender. It will not tolerate soggy soil. Sandy soil that is not particularly fertile will yield the best results. Water sparingly when rainfall is insufficient. Fertilization is generally not needed, but a light top dressing of compost will be all you need if you insist. Lavender prefers a sweet soil, so amend acidic soils with lime to reach a neutral to alkaline soil pH. Avoid disturbing lavender once established as they do not care to be moved. If you must move them, be sure to include as much of the soil surrounding the roots as possible for best results.
Deadheading is not needed to have plenty of blooms on this lavender, but removing old spent flower spikes may result in a renewed flush of flowers later in the season. You will not be able to resist harvesting stems of lavender flowers to bring indoors to enjoy, or to dry for potpourri to extend the beautiful fragrance into your home all season. You will not need to prune lavender, but if you feel you must, prune to shape them after the new growth starts in the spring and do not prune into the older wood. Lavender occasionally gets unsightly with its woody stems, you may prune back up to â…“ of plant volume once every three years to improve their visual appearance.
Phenomenal Lavender Spacing
Spacing lavender properly is key to good plant health. Growing up to 30 inches tall and spreading a phenomenal 54 inches wide, give it 48 to 54 inches of room to allow proper air circulation and reduce any chances of fungal diseases. Deer and rabbits typically will not browse on lavender due to its strong essential oil production. Plant in herb gardens, rock gardens and cottage gardens for an informal look, or mass out in your landscape border for a phenomenal display.
*Some images provided by Plantipp / Concept Plants
