Lavandula (Section Stoechas)
Also sometimes known as Spanish lavender; generally 2-3' tall and 2-5' wide with 'pinecone-shaped' flower heads and distinctly aromatic foliage. The earliest to bloom and also the longest-blooming. One of the best to attract pollinators.
We refer to this group as Section Stoechas because the three included species, L. stoechas, L. pedunculata and L. viridis, all hybridize freely with each other and most cultivars are of unknown hybrid origin even though they are often incorrectly marketed as cultivars of L. stoechas.
L. stoechas has been used medicinally since ancient times and was famously used by the Romans to scent and clean their bath water and linens.
Our Selection
Lavandula 'Evelyn Cadzow'
Description: evergreen shrub; a low-growing cultivar discovered in the Dunedin, New Zealand garden of Evelyn Cadzow around 1992 and named for her by Geoff and Adair Genge. Dense, light green foliage, small flower heads with dark corollas and a top bract of reddish-purple.
Height: to 18 in. Spread: to 18 in.
Stem length: 4-6 in.
Corolla: dark purple-black
Sterile bracts: red-purple
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: containers, rock gardens
Lavandula 'Ivory Crown'
Description: evergreen shrub; a chance seedling from our own garden that we introduced in the 1990s. Distinctively aromatic foliage (indicative of L. viridis in its parentage) and contrasting dark purple corollas with short, ivory white bracts.
Height: to 2 ft. Spread: to 2 ft.
Stem length: 8-10 in.
Corolla: dark purple
Sterile bracts: ivory
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: landscaping, containers, rock gardens
Lavandula 'Madrid Purple' SYN: Lavandula 'Bee Brilliant'
Description: evergreen shrub; part of the "Bee Series" released by Paradise Plants of New South Wales, Australia from 1997 onwards (marketed as the "Madrid Series" in Europe and the U.S. Upright, compact growth with dark purple corollas and light purple bracts. Tolerates wet conditions better than most lavender in Section Stoechas.
Height: to 2 ft. Spread: to 2 ft.
Stem length: 8-12 in.
Corolla: dark purple
Sterile bracts: light purple
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: landscaping, containers, rock gardens
Lavandula 'Pretty Polly'
Description: evergreen shrub; a chance seedling raised by David and Elizabeth Christie of Jersey Lavender in 1991. One of only four cultivars of lavender in Section Stoechas to hold an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. Low, spreading growth with gray-green foliage. Dark violet corollas and yellowish-white bracts with green midribs
Height: to 18 in. Spread: to 2 ft.
Stem length: 2-4 in.
Corolla: dark violet
Sterile bracts: yellowish-white with green midribs
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: landscaping, containers, rock gardens
Lavandula 'Willow Vale'
Description: evergreen shrub; a selection from a garden in New South Wales that was introduced in 1992 and one of only four cultivars of lavender in Section Stoechas to hold an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. Gray-green foliage and an upright growth habit. Dark purple-black corollas and mid purple bracts with dark purple midribs.
Height: to 2 ft. Spread: to 18 in.
Stem length: 4-6 in.
Corolla: dark purple-black
Sterile bracts: mid purple with dark purple midribs
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: landscaping, containers, rock gardens
Lavandula 'Wings of Night'
Description: evergreen shrub; a selection by the late, Ted Kipping of California. Bushy, compact growth with dark purple-black corollas and long, showy light purple bracts.
Height: to 2 ft. Spread: to 3 in.
Stem length: 4-6 in.
Corolla: dark purple-black
Sterile bracts: light purple
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: landscaping, containers, rock gardens
Lavandula stoechas subsp. stoechas f. leucantha
Description: evergreen shrub; a very seldom-offered, pure white form of L. stoechas. Originally discovered in 1925 in the East Pyrenees near Villefrance, France but subsequently found in several populations around the Eastern Mediterranean basin. White corollas and short, white bracts.
Height: to 18 in. Spread: to 2 ft.
Stem length: 4-6 in.
Corolla: white
Sterile bracts: white
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: landscaping, containers, rock gardens
Lavandula stoechas subsp. stoechas f. rosea 'Peter's Pink'
Description: evergreen shrub; a selection with a sorted past that was likely either selection as a seedling of 'Kew Red' or grown as a separately named clone of the same plant found in Almeria, Spain in 1991. A very diminutive lavender that requires perfectly draining soil to thrive in our climate. Seeds rather freely if left to its own devices.
Height: to 18 in. Spread: to 18 in.
Stem length: 1-2 in.
Corolla: dark reddish-purple
Sterile bracts: pale pink with reddish midribs
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: landscaping, containers, rock gardens
Lavandula viridis
Common name(s): yellow-flowered lavender
Description: evergreen shrub; a species native to Portugal and Spain and easily recognizable by its white corollas, short, whitish-green bracts, and highly aromatic foliage. Performs best in gritty, perfectly-draining soils with little to no supplemental water.
Height: to 18 in. Spread: to 18 in.
Stem length: 2-4 in.
Corolla: white
Sterile bracts: yellowish-white with green midribs
Bloom season: spring-autumn
Best Uses: landscaping, containers, rock gardens