Lavender is such a versatile, therapeutic herb on the homestead; it is also deeply cherished throughout the farthest reaches of the modern and ancient world, being used medicinally, aromatically, and cosmetically. In France, lambs were released to graze upon Lavender, as it is believed to make the meat of a lamb more fragrant and tender (more fun history on Wikipedia). We wanted to bring this magical plant onto the homestead- but not through existing plants from a department store or nursery.
We love to diffuse lavender as an essential oil, others loves to make soaps and perfumes with it, and yet others use it for landscaping and cut flowers; then, you have a long list of applications for it when it comes to modern herbal medicine or cooking. It’s nothing short of an incredible plant for any homestead.
However, growing lavender from seed is one of the hardest things we’ve tackled thus far on the homestead; but we’ve finally figured it out. We’re not the first ones to fail over, and over, and over again– but few people find success with their lavender seeds before they completely give up. I was not about to give up.
Truly, it doesn’t surprise me that so many do, though.
Lavender requires endless patience, dedication, and the ability to maintain hope- much like the homesteading lifestyle in general. My first batch of seeds likely wasn’t dead; I just didn’t hit all of the major germination requirements for the lavender to sprout at all of the right times, which we’ll touch base with below. There’s a chance that they were dead, as with any other seed, because they were over 1 year old.
If you’re struggling with growing lavender from a packet you’ve purchased and you don’t want to fail again, stick around for a few of our tips (and hard learned lessons) that got us this far into our successful lavender growing journey.
These are the seeds I’VE used for this experiment, and while you can find them in local stores, I assume I’m getting the best germination rate that I’m going to get as far as seed quality goes; I say this because this company has excellent germination rates, just as good as my seeds from Baker’s Creek, with the exception of the first batch of Lavender seeds. Truly, I rarely get my hands on bad seed, no matter the company. However, Lavender will make you question whether your seed is good or not, so I supplied you with my source so that you can replicate our process and results if you are determined to get those little guys to sprout! I’m up to 17 live seedlings as of 2/19/2019, with many more trying to sprout. This is fairly impressive for 50 to 75 seeds. Truthfully? I don’t need even a dozen Lavender plants; I’ve created a monster with this project, but I will part with many of the plants and send them on to new families.
Growing Lavender from Seed: The Conditions to Meet
If you want to succeed at growing your lavender from seed, you need to provide the perfect conditions for your lavender. You could plant the seeds straight into the ground during the fall (which isn’t a bad idea), but you run the risk of seeds being eaten, washed away, etc. If you can heavily plant the seeds and are looking to plant it and forget it, I say go for it!
However, they are also slow to grow and you may not know which seedlings are lavender and which are weeds. Therefore, planting outdoors offers quite a few drawbacks, especially if it is important to you that lavender plants grace your beds this year.
In order to make your seeds happy (notice that I did not say seedlings), you’re going to have to meet a variety of conditions:
- Stratification
- Plentiful Bright Light
- Surface Sowing
- Periods of Warmth
- Periods of Coolness and Darkness (night)
- Consistently Damp Soil
I know this list sounds crazy for seeds. If it’s any consolation, I find that the seedlings are incredibly easy to care for! I only had one sprout that did not make it; it started to germinate, I transplanted it, and it failed before breaking the surface. I’ve not had this issue again, and I can only assume that the seedling was not strong enough to finish sprouting. This simply happens sometimes; I’m sure you’ve witnessed this among other varieties of plants, especially when it comes to those seeds that are smaller than what they should be.
One Tip before You Embark On Your Own Project…
If you plan to give this a go, please be sure to use fresh Lavender seeds. While old seed may germinate just fine, you will make this process much harder on yourself (and potentially much more disappointing) if you do not use fresh seed.
In addition, using fresh seed will keep you from questioning whether or not old seed is the cause of failed germination. I linked to a great source for English Lavender seed in the introduction, so that you can start fresh. If you have old seed too, I’d recommend starting them in separate bags. This could prove to be a useful experiment, especially if your seeds are several years old.
Where We Failed First: Surface Sowing & Bright Light
Lavender seeds need lots of light in order to sprout. They are not very happy when they are buried beneath the soil. If you simply press them into the surface of your potting soil, you’ll be off to a good start.
The first time around, I planted them 1/8″ deep. This seemed to be a good start for the seed size; wrong. I should have left them on the surface.
Since I planted them this deep and did not offer them bright light, they had no desire to sprout. This first batch also wasn’t stratified, which only added fuel to the fire. So be sure that you learn from our mistakes, and only press the seed into the soil (if you go through with the soil method, rather than the baggy method that I recommend). Leave them in a sunny window sill (with plastic wrap over the pot, if not using a bag), and you should see sprouts in several weeks’ time. My seedling light (that’s identical to the nine that I have) takes credit for bringing the majority of our current seedlings into existence. If using a light, be sure that you are using a growing light that puts out the correct type of light.
Mistake 1.2: Not Breaking Seed Dormancy
We really should have stratified the first batch (we did with the second and third batches). I knew stratification was important, but I assumed that the seed was pre-stratified. I still am not sure whether or not the seed was stratified, but I can tell you this: the seeds sprouted after stratifying them. Even if they were stratified before being packaged and sold, it doesn’t hurt to stratify them again!
After all, all you have to do is toss the seeds in your freezer for a few weeks; it’s not hard, and it’ll save a lot of heartache in the end if they weren’t previously stratified.
Stratification tells the seed that “winter” has arrived, which in turn causes the seed to begin sprouting when it warms up and comes into contact with moisture. This unique characteristic is expressed by many, many different types of plants, and is an important survival mechanism that keeps seeds from sprouting during the wrong seasons. Otherwise, the plant might freeze, fail to go to seed, or otherwise fail to thrive.
Temperature Can Make or Break the Seedling Yield
You would not believe how important soil temperature is for the success of your lavender project!
After the failed first batch and the poor performing second batch, I took it upon myself to go overboard with simulating a natural outdoor environment (aside from the soil, that is). Other than using both grow lights and sunlight to help encourage germination, there is no better way to do this than by offering both night and day temperatures. As temperatures fluctuate between cool or cold nights and warm days, the seeds determine spring is upon them.
If you do not supply warm temperatures, the seeds will not recognize that spring is coming. They enjoy warm, bright, and moist conditions; a cold cabinet isn’t going to cut it. I tucked my bag of seeds by a radiator heater in order to give them several hours of very warm temperatures. Ideally, you should aim for temperatures between 70F and 80F. Some people buy and use these heating mats, which are basically heating pads for seedlings; I do not, as I cannot justify the cost (of the purchase and operation of multiple mats) as opposed to setting the trays or pots by a heater during the cooler months. For kicks, I made sure they had some cold days too- I then realized it was helping germination along, and took it seriously from there on.
Simply put, mimic Lavender’s native spring growing conditions in a controlled environment, offering seeds consecutive “perfect” spring days in order to achieve a satisfactory germination rate.
Moisture: A Critical Component for Germination
Without adequate moisture within the soil, you’re not going to get much (if any) germination or sprouting. Keeping the tender young spouts in moistened soil is important until the seedlings become healthy young plants with strong root systems. If the sprouts dry out before then, they will wilt away.
With that being said, you shouldn’t leave the seeds in their own miniature swamp, either; if your seedlings are living in a rendition of Shrek’s backyard, you’re inviting an invasion of rot or fungal infections (the baggy method doesn’t seem affected, likely due to the absence of soil.) Lavender does not like wet conditions as a mature plant, and requires adequate drainage. This might be slightly confusing due to the moisture requirements of tender young seedlings. Just know that the young plants do not have the resilience of adult plants, the water retention of mature foliage, or the extensive root system of an established plant.
Where Are We Now, and What Will Be Included in Our Next Installment of the Lavender Series Blog Posts?
Now that we have reached 20 plants (and growing, as opposed to my earlier edit in this post 2 days ago), we will just keep transplanting seedlings from the bag and potting them up as time goes on. I think the germination boom is largely over, but these seedlings certainly come in waves. I will continue to watch over my seedlings indoors until spring weather has arrived, and I will do another separate update when I toss out the bag at the end of the germination project.
The Plans for Upcoming Lavender Posts…
In our second phase of documenting and growing these seedlings, we will move the English Lavender outdoors, transplanting it into our garden. I will transplant them in five different ways. Three will go into clay soil: one in a sunnier, drier location, one in a sunnier location with poor drainage, while the other remains in a more shaded, cooler location with poor drainage. Two other beds will be planned to increase drainage. One will have better drainage than the other, with more sand. The other will have native clay soil mixed in, in an effort to reduce the total cost required to build and maintain successful Lavender beds in our climate. I expect many challenges ahead, especially as many fail with Lavender in this area. Thus, I have several different methods of planting and care that I will experiment with this year, just to see which conditions are the absolute worst, which are tolerable, and which are preferred by my own seedlings. Of course, this will all be documented for my readers to see! (if you’ve not yet subscribed to follow our blog, please do for updates and new posts!)
What Our Dreams Are for This Extended Experiment Over the Years…
Far into the future, I would like to continue this journey by saving seed from our healthiest, most productive, and most resilient plants, sprout the seeds, and replace the less resilient plants with them. Over the years, this should provide us with plants that are accustomed to our own micro-climate, making them easier to care for. How incredible would it be to have a thriving, worry-free lavender garden?
