Lavender Ladiva Papillon Purple

Lavender 'Ladiva Papillon Purple' (Lavandula stoechas) is a compact Spanish lavender that holds at about 60cm tall and 60cm wide, topped with purple flower heads carrying two upright bracts like small wings. It is the one to choose when older lavenders have sprawled or died out on you, because it stays tight, flowers early and asks for almost nothing once established.

Why you'll love it

• It keeps its shape. At 60cm each way it holds a neat dome instead of splaying open after two seasons.
• A long purple season. Flowering starts early and repeats with a trim, so the colour is not gone by Christmas.
• Scent you walk past. Foliage and flowers are both aromatic, so plant it along a path edge rather than at the back of a bed.
• Hard conditions do not bother it. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, heat tolerant, salt tolerant and comfortable in poor soil, so exposed coastal and dry inland gardens both suit.
• Bees find it fast. The flower heads are worked hard by bees and butterflies all season.

Where it works best

Borders and edging. Plant 50cm apart for a continuous border. Any tighter and air stops moving through the plants, which is how lavender rots out.

Mass planting and rockeries. The same 50cm spacing works for a drift on a slope or between rocks, where the sharp drainage suits it better than a flat bed.

Pots and small gardens. A pot 350mm or wider with a free draining mix is ideal, and it can be shifted into full sun as the seasons move.

Growing lavender in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, all day, with air moving around the plant. It is at home in warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, and takes frost without protection. Humid subtropical and tropical summers are the honest limit: in that air it is short lived, so use a pot with sharp drainage and treat it as a two or three year performer.

Soil. Free draining and on the lean side. Gravel or coarse sand through the backfill beats compost here. Do not mulch heavily against the stem.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Feeding is largely unnecessary, and heavy nitrogen gives soft growth and fewer flowers.

Pruning. Shear the whole plant back by about a third after each flowering flush, and again in early spring. Never cut into bare old wood, because it will not reshoot from it.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown as tube stock and as 140mm plants in packs of ten. Tubes are small, often just a few centimetres above the mix, and establish quickly enough to flower in their first full season. The 140mm packs are the practical choice for a border, arriving as bushy young plants that close the gaps within a season.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Some leaf greying in transit is normal for silvered foliage. Water it in, then leave it alone. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• A guide to the most fragrant garden plants
• Browse the fragrant plant range
• Plants that bring in bees and butterflies
• Compare rockery and dry garden plants

Common questions

How many plants make a border?

Two per metre at 50cm spacing. A pack of ten covers five metres of edging, which is the usual length of a path or driveway run.

Why do lavenders die after a few years?

Almost always wet feet, shade or a hard prune into old wood. Give it full sun and drainage, shear it lightly and often, and this one will hold for years.

Will it grow in a humid subtropical garden?

Not reliably in the ground. Summer humidity is the problem rather than heat, so use a raised pot with a gritty mix, keep it in full sun, and accept a shorter life than a southern or inland garden gets.