Lavender ‘Avonview’

Lavender 'Avonview' (Lavandula stoechas) is the Spanish lavender to plant when you want flower for longer than a French or English form will give you. It makes a rounded shrub about 90cm tall and 80cm wide, and the deep purple heads, each topped with two upright bracts like small wings, start in late winter and carry on into summer. Once established it asks for little beyond sun and drainage.

Why you'll love it

• The longest flowering season of the lavenders. Colour begins in late winter, well before other lavenders wake up, and repeats into early summer.
• Fragrance in the leaf, not just the flower. Brushing past releases the scent, so it earns a spot beside a path or a doorway.
• A magnet for bees and butterflies. Few plants this size bring in more pollinators for longer.
• Genuinely tough once settled. Frost hardy, heat tolerant, drought tolerant, happy in poor soil and salt tolerant.

Where it works best

Mass planting. Plant 60cm apart for a continuous drift. At that spacing the plants touch without crowding and air still moves between them, which matters more for lavender than for most shrubs.

Borders, coastal gardens and pots. A row at 60cm centres gives a soft grey green line that flowers for months. Salt tolerance makes sandy coastal soil an advantage, and a pot 350mm or wider solves the drainage question outright.

Growing Lavender 'Avonview' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun all day, with open air movement around the plant. It is at home in warm temperate, cool temperate, Mediterranean and arid to semi-arid gardens, and frost hardy enough for cold southern and inland winters. Humid subtropical and tropical gardens are the honest limit, where wet summer air brings on stem rot.

Soil. This decides whether your plant lives. It needs sharp drainage, so mound the position 150mm to 200mm above the bed on anything heavier than sandy loam, and open clay with coarse grit rather than compost. Poor soil is fine; rich damp soil is not.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only during long dry spells, because established plants resent regular watering. A light dressing of lime on acid soils does more good than fertiliser.

Pruning. Trim after the main flush, taking about a third off and shaping the plant into a dome. Never cut into bare old wood, because lavender does not reshoot from it.

One caution. Lavender is mildly toxic to cats and dogs if eaten, so we do not list it as pet friendly.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in four sizes: tube stock, 140mm plants in packs of ten, 200mm in packs of six and 250mm in packs of three. Tubes suit a large drift. The 140mm and 200mm plants are the practical middle, and the 250mm plants arrive as bushy young shrubs.

Lavender travels well because the foliage is firm and low in moisture, though some grey leaves after transit are normal. Plant into a mounded position, water in once, then hold back. Expect flowering in the first season on the larger sizes. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Preparing and improving soil before planting
• Browse flowering shrubs
• Compare drought tolerant plants
• Plants that handle coastal exposure

Common questions

Will it grow in a humid subtropical garden?

Not reliably. Spanish lavender needs dry air over summer, and humid east coast gardens tend to lose plants to stem rot within a year or two. Grow it potted in full sun there.

When and how hard should I prune it?

Once a year after the main flowering flush, cutting about a third off and keeping the shape rounded. Always leave green growth below your cut, since lavender rarely reshoots from bare wood.

Is it safe around pets?

It is mildly toxic to cats and dogs if eaten, so we do not describe it as pet friendly. The strong scent puts most animals off, but site it away from where a pet grazes.

Western Australia: this plant is listed as an environmental weed in WA, where it escapes from gardens into bushland. We do not recommend it for WA gardens. Please choose a local alternative.