Yes, yes, yes. Tell us about the other lavenders!!

I have Munstead lavender that is about 9 years old, started as a hedge of sorts in one part of the yard, then dug up and moved all around the yard. On Friday, you know back when it was actually spring, I was inspecting them and thinking the plants were getting so old and gnarly they were going to have to go. Made me sad.

Marcy

Oh, Marcy, don't you love the fragrance of Munstead. That was the lavender I first grew, the one on the clay hill and has always been my favorite of all the varieties.
Ok, here is the list of some of the varities I have grown. Keep in mind, that I'm no expert, but just someone who likes to try new plants and these are my experiences with them. These are the varieties I've found around here although sometimes you have to just stumble across them.

English lavender(lavendula angustifolia): They seem a little more finicky than lavidins. I have more winter die back of some branches and they get a dark grey color in the winter so they have a dreary look, sometimes.
MUNSTEAD: The best flavor for cooking to me. It grows well and is compact.
HIDCOTE: About the same size as Munstead but with darker flowers. The flavor and scent is a little sharper to me.
ROSEA (AKA Jean Davis): Pink flowers. I've bought this mutiple times and it never does well for me. Doesn't die, doesn't grow. Just stays a grey lump with a few flowers in spring. Maybe I just don't have the touch.
ROYAL VELVET: Another one that does Ok but doesn't thrive.

Lavandins(Lavandula x intermedia): Stays a good silver color during winter and has little die back. It has a higher camphor percentage, so it tastes and smells slightly medicinal. Good landscape plants.
PROVENCE: the best and easiest to find
GROSSO: A little larger and blooms about a week before or after Provence, I can't remember which.
DUTCH: I can't tell the difference between it and Grosso.
FRED BOUTIN: Another I bought several times and they all died, until last year. This one seems to be doing well but is not old enough to tell about it. I told my husband that everytime I bought Fred, he commited suicide when he got here so I renamed this one Joe and he's doing well.

Spanish Lavender(Lavendula stoechas): I grow this as a short lived plant. Its borderline on hardiness down here. It wouldn't have survived ths winter, but it does fairly well as an annual. Any variety seems to do about the same as any other. I like the plain unnamed plants best.

OTHER:
GOODWIN CREEK GREY: I grow it as an annual in a pot. Never been able to overwinter it so it looks good the next year.
French lavender(Lavendula dentata) Another one I grow as an annual in a pot. Dainty green flowers and foliage.

Hope this helps.
Loretta

There is a very nice Lavender Festival at Lavender Hill Farms in Haskel, OK in early June each year. There is somewhere between a quarter and half acre of lavender. The Hidcote is always in full bloom, but the Provence and Grosso is usually just getting started. I forget what other varieties they have. It's a great place to see lots of Lavender. I have been a vendor since they started several years ago and look forward to going.

Hello to all:
I read an on-line article regarding lavendar that says lavendar is suppose to repel moths, white flies, and fleas, while attracting pollinators & nectar-feeding insects and suggests it repels codling moths when planted beside fruit trees. Has anyone planted lavendar near or around their fruit trees?

Hey Loretta! Guess you've found your 'niche' on this forum! Thanks for the info...and I did a google search and still not sure where to find ALL the stuff, but I've got names now so I know what to look for.

Thanks so much for joining and contributing!

Paula

Loretta --

Have you ever tried Mitcham Gray lavender? It is really popular at High Country Gardens in Santa Fe.

Marcy

I haven't tried that one. It's been several years sonce we've been through Santa Fe and then it was in the fall. High Country might not have had it then or they might have sold out. I know I would have bought a pot if I saw it, specially with a name like Mitcham. We stop by High Country and Plants of the Southwest any time we're in that part of NM. Maybe they will have it next time we're there. It sounds interesting from the catalogue description.
Loretta