Lavender prefers sunny, warm, protected place where the stools can live for 15-20 years. It is ideal for slightly alkaline soil although it is not a sensitive plant. It is drought - tolerant however in great heat it needs watering but no other special treatment, if it is possible cover the soil with 3-4 cm thick compost, once a year.
Always cut the stems of young plants after the completion of flowering - within the height of 15-18 cm from soil surface by doing so you provide the growth of plenty of shoots on the stool so you will have prolific flowering the following year. When pruning you can form ball shaped shrub bushes with the help of e.g. hand pruners for bigger bushes use pruning shears - or you if they were space plants then you can keep the stools in line by pruning. With regular pruning you can even form a little tree from the lavender shrub, and you can keep it in a wooden bin as lovely decoration on your terrace.
In autumn the lavender bushes can be pruned again, after their second completion of flowering, flowers of the pruned stems can be put in scent pads.
The easiest way lavender can be propagated is by stool layering or stem divisions however you also succeed if you propagate by cuttings or with French lavender by seeding.
If you propagate from young stem, the cuttings should be planted into a mix of sand and mature compost with the same proportion, keep it in semi-shade, so the small stems can better develop and easily take root.
It is recommended to seed in March, after you have put the seeds in the pot, do not cover them with soil just pat them down, if seeds get too deep in the soil they will not grow. Put the grown small plants into small pots. In May you can plant the nurslings outdoors leaving 40-50 cm spaces from each stool and row. If the plant is of larger type this distance should be 100 cm. In the second year lavender stools start to bloom and their beauty comes to fruition in the 3rd-4th year.
Lavender can be planted in rock, herb garden or you can form short hedge. According to observations it keeps way ants, greenflies, so the plants located next to them will not get infected, that is why they are planted among rose bushes. If we plant them in pots a terracotta pot can be a beautiful ornament of your Mediterranean styled terrace. It is recommended to choose a pottery that is able to take in the double size of the plant. Mix the soil with sand, small pebbles, and at the bottom of the pot put a layer of pebbles.
