Lavender ‘English Pink’

Lavender 'English Pink' (Lavandula angustifolia) is the English lavender for gardeners who want the scent without the usual purple. It settles at about 60cm tall and 60cm across, holding soft pink flower spikes above grey green foliage through late spring and summer. Once the roots are down it asks for little beyond full sun and sharp drainage.

Why you'll love it

• Pink rather than purple. The same clean spikes and true lavender scent, in a soft rose pink that sits well with white, silver and dark green planting.
• A tidy 60cm mound. Compact English lavender, not a sprawling French type, so a border stays neat with one trim a year.
• Genuinely tough. Frost hardy, heat tolerant, drought tolerant and content in poor soil, including coastal blocks where salt spray carries.
• Nectar and edible buds. Bees and butterflies work it for weeks, and buds picked before they open are culinary grade for baking and syrups.

Where it works best

Borders and low hedging. Plant 50cm apart for a low fragrant hedge. At that spacing the mounds meet by the second summer and read as a continuous band along a path edge.

Mass planting and rockeries. On a dry bank or gravel garden, 50cm centres give a grey green carpet that needs no irrigation once settled. It prefers thin, stony soil.

Pots and containers. One plant to a 300mm pot in free draining mix. Terracotta suits it better than plastic, because the walls breathe and lavender hates sitting wet.

Growing Lavender 'English Pink' in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, six hours minimum, with air moving through the planting. It suits Mediterranean, cool temperate, warm temperate and arid or semi-arid gardens, so Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra and inland districts all work. Frost is no concern. Humid subtropical and tropical gardens are the honest limit, because summer humidity rots the crown.

Soil. Drainage decides the outcome. It wants gritty, neutral to slightly alkaline ground and no richness at all. On clay, plant on a raised mound and mulch with gravel rather than bark.

Water and feed. A deep soak weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Feeding is close to counterproductive, since rich soil gives soft growth and fewer flowers.

Pruning. Trim straight after flowering, taking about a third off and staying within green growth. It will not reshoot from bare wood, so never cut into the woody base.

What to expect when it arrives

We grow it in three sizes: tube stock, 140mm in packs of ten and 200mm in packs of six. Tube stock is young and single stemmed, and it is the value choice for a long border, since lavender catches up quickly in its first warm season. The 140mm and 200mm plants arrive already branched and flower in their first summer.

Grey foliage travels well, though expect the plants to look flattened for a week. Water them in, then let the soil dry between drinks. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Our guide to aromatic garden plants
• How to choose edging plants
• Browse the wider fragrant plant range
• Plants for rockeries and dry gardens

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a low hedge?

Fifty centimetres apart in a single row. Closer than that and the mounds shade each other's lower stems, which is how lavender hedges go bare at the base.

Will it grow in a humid subtropical garden?

Not reliably in the ground, because summer humidity rots the crown. In Brisbane or northern New South Wales, grow it in a pot of gritty mix under cover from storms.

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

We do not list it as pet friendly. The flower buds are culinary grade for people, but the concentrated essential oils in the foliage are mildly toxic to cats and dogs if a lot is chewed.