Mt Lofty Lavender

Mt Lofty Lavender (Lavandula 'Allwood') is a compact selection that holds a tight mound about 80cm tall and 80cm wide, topped with purple flower spikes through the warmer months. The scent is the classic lavender oil note, released whenever you brush the foliage. It is drought tolerant, frost hardy and salt tolerant, so it earns its place in a hot dry border as well as a cottage garden.

Why you'll love it

• Scent you meet every time you pass. The foliage releases oil on contact, so a path edge works on you daily, not just when it flowers.
• Bees find it immediately. Few plants pull in bees and butterflies as reliably as lavender in flower, which matters if you grow vegetables nearby.
• A tidy, compact mound. At about 80cm by 80cm it stays in proportion in a small bed and does not sprawl open the way larger lavenders do.
• It wants to be left alone. Drought tolerant, frost hardy and happy in lean soil. Rich, well watered ground is what kills lavender.

Where it works best

Borders and low hedging. Plant 60cm apart for a low informal hedge or a continuous border. At that spacing the mounds touch without shading each other out at the base.

Mass planting. The same 60cm spacing gives a block of purple in flower and silver green the rest of the year. Run the rows down a slope so water drains through rather than pooling.

Pots and containers. A pot 350mm or wider with free draining mix suits it, and a pot is the practical answer if your soil is heavy clay.

Growing Mt Lofty Lavender in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun and open air movement. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and it is frost hardy once established. Humid subtropical and tropical summers are its weakness, where wet heat brings on stem rot.

Soil. Free draining and on the lean side, ideally slightly alkaline. On clay, plant into a raised bed or a mound with grit worked through. Use a gravel mulch rather than heavy organic mulch against the stems.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Feeding is rarely needed, and a light dressing of lime every second year suits it better than fertiliser.

Pruning. Shear back by about a third straight after flowering, staying in the green growth. Never cut into bare woody stems, which do not reshoot. Annual trimming from year one keeps a lavender alive past five years.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in one size, tube stock. These are young rooted plants, usually 10cm to 15cm tall, and lavender genuinely prefers to start small: tubes root out quickly and often overtake larger transplants within two seasons.

Plants travel upright and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect them to double in size across the first warm season, with a light first flowering and a full display in year two. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• A guide to the most fragrant garden plants
• Browse plants that attract bees and butterflies
• Compare other drought tolerant plants

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

60cm apart for a low hedge or a border. Any tighter and the mounds shade each other, which opens up the centres and shortens the life of the planting.

Why do lavenders die after a few years?

Usually wet soil, or no annual pruning. Trim by a third every year after flowering while the stems are still green, and make sure water drains away from the crown rather than sitting around it.

Will it grow in the subtropics or tropics?

No, not reliably. Humid summers bring on rot. In those climates grow it in a pot with sharp drainage and good air movement, and treat it as a shorter lived plant.

Can I use the flowers?

Yes. Cut the spikes as the buds show colour, before they open fully, and hang them upside down somewhere dry and dark for the strongest scent.