LAVENDER Lavendula augustifolia
Highly scented deep-purple blooms on compact 10" plants! Blooms first year from seed! Deepest purple-blue color without bleaching. Strong branching forms dense clumps. An excellent Lavender for the perennial garden!
Type: Hardy perennial
Location: Sun
Hardiness zones: 4-9
Seeds per pack: 10
Germination: As with many perennial seeds, these seeds benefit from a period of moist cold to help them begin to grow. This is done by giving them a cold 'winter' period (artificial or natural), and then a warming to simulate 'spring', and time to grow! Here's how this can be done:
Obtain a planting container that has holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. Place the seeds just under the surface of your growing medium, and water. Place your container at room temperature for 1 week (they will not grow yet), and then place them in a refrigerator for 4-6 weeks. Once the cold period is completed, place the container back at room temperature for them to germinate. Be sure to keep the soil moist during this entire germination period. Seedlings will sprout a few weeks, or occasionally several months, after the warming period. They require some patience, but are well worth the effort!
These seeds can also be planted in a cold frame outdoors in very early spring, while the temperatures are still cold and fluctuating, as long as you are able to keep the soil consistently moist. They will still need several weeks to germinate.