Dig into Plants: English Lavender

English Lavender Scientific Name: Lavandula angustifolia Native to Alabama: No, non-invasive
	Wikimedia Maja Dumat Click on image to enlarge it

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Basic Plant Information
	I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous. I keep leaves year-round, so I am evergreen. I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial. I can grow 2 - 3 feet high and 2 - 4 feet wide.
Wikimedia Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen Click on image to enlarge it

Ecological Benefits

Maintenance Notes
Not dormant in the winter. Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase. Remove spent flowers to promote continued bloom. In the winter, leaves are silvery-green to gray-bronzed. Poorly drained soil causes root rot. In Spring, prune to shape after leaves appear.
To promote new groth and control size, prune back to 8 inches every three years. When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots. Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves. Requires average amount of water.
Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

LEAF DESCRIPTION				Wikimedia David J. Stang Click on image to enlarge it
Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)

Shape: Linear or Lanceolate	Margin: Entire/Smooth	Arrangement: Opposite	Form: Simple


Description:
Square stems; leaves are soft, velvety, highly aromatic, gray-green to green-purple in summer, narrow, up to 2.5 inches long and less than an inch wide


FLOWER DESCRIPTION			Wikimedia H. Zell Click on image to enlarge it
Flower Shape Chart (JPG)

Color: Purple, white, pink	Shape: Funnelform	Bloom Months: Jun - Aug

Description:
Aromatic flowers in clusters on spikes up to 3 inches long; flower is less than a half inch in size, trumpet-shaped, 2-lipped with 2 lobes on the upper lip and 3 lobes on the lower lip



SEED DESCRIPTION		Stock Photo Unavailable Click on image to enlarge it

Type: Fruit - Nut	Description: Flowers dry and release nutlets

Plant spreads by:
Seeds Will self-seed

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

All plants start life as a seed.
The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime
Click on image to enlarge it

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign:
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign:
Editable Word Doc

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT

Ohio State University Pocket Gardener		North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
Missouri Botanical Garden

Alabama Outdoor Classroom Conservation Education Programs