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Lavender and roses
have been beloved garden plants throughout their long history of
cultivation and their timeless beauty is easily adaptable to
changing gardening fashions. In the formal gardens of the Romans,
who bathed in lavender and rose-scented waters, in medieval
apothecaries'
gardens, Elizabethan knot gardens, Shaker Gardens and
English cottage gardens, lavenders and roses have always had an
important role. Today they are an integral part of most contemporary garden designs,
from historical revival gardens, formal perennial borders, cottage
gardens, patio gardens and edible landscapes. Lavender and roses
blend well together, both visually and in fragrance - the rich floral
notes of roses anchored by the herbal tones of lavender. Both evoke
nostalgia and romance, and are in high demand for use in perfumes,
potpourri, wreaths and wedding bouquets. Whether planted together or
apart, both are also highly addictive - you can never have enough
lavender or roses in the garden!
Both lavender and roses can be grown successfully from seed. Like
many perennials, they do take longer to germinate than annuals.
Lavender seeds do produce some variation in plant growth habit and
flower spike length. Unless you are planning a formal
hedge or growing lavender commercially, this can actually work to
your advantage, as gradations between slightly paler and deeper
shades of blue or occasional differences in height or flower shape
can add interest and movement to a lavender planting. |
Renee's Garden Seed
shopping list
"Angel
Wings" Rose
"Perfume"
Lavender
"White
Ice"
Lavender
"Hidcote"
Lavender
Spanish
Lavender
"Munstead" Lavender
"Fernleaf" Multifida Lavender
To purchase these and other Renee's Garden Seeds
click here
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Because these plants look well with almost anything, it is convenient
to have enough seedlings on hand to fill in holes in the landscape, or to decorate
a patio or entryway. Insert lavender between older bushes that
are past their prime as eventual replacements, expand an existing
lavender planting, and grow them as edging along a path, around a birdbath,
or under a window.
Growing lavender and miniature roses from seed is well worth a little
extra effort because you will have an abundance of plants to use and
enjoy for years. Extra seedlings also make wonderful gifts!
Choosing varieties
Renee's Garden offers different lavender cultivars for a variety
of climate zones and landscaping needs, as well as our lovely and very
hardy and low-maintenance miniature rose,
Angel Wings.
 Lavender angustifolia
Hidcote: According to the website of Hidcote Manor
in Gloucestershire, England, the original Hidcote lavender was brought
there in the 1920's by the proprietor and plant-hunter Lawrence
Johnston. Since the seed stock contains more genetic diversity than a
cutting of the original variety, some experts question whether its' name
is legitimate. However, it is now well established in the seed trade as
a compact variety with dark purple, velvety flower spikes. With intense flower
color and sweet scent, Hidcote is especially suited for wreaths and
decorative bunches tied with white, pink or blue ribbons.
Lavender angustifolia
Munstead: Named for the country estate of British
garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, who was influential in popularizing
herbs including lavender as ornamental plants, Munstead produces lush
drifts of fragrant pale blue, more elongated flower spikes than Hidcote.
Faster to grow and earlier to bloom than Hidcote, it grows 1½ feet
tall and is hardy to zone 5.
Lavender stoecheas a.k.a.
Spanish Lavender: With its butterfly-like
reddishurple translucent flower bracts and grey-green foliage, Spanish
lavender appears more exotic and less old-fashioned than English
lavender. It blends well in the landscape with fiery colors, as well as
with Mediterranean and tropical plants. Although it is hardy to zone 7,
it can be grown as a container plant and brought indoors in colder
areas. Tolerant of heat and drought, it often gives two flushes of bloom
per season. The leaves possess a more medicinal, camphorous fragrance
than English lavender so can be used in sachets to repel moths.
Lavender multifida a.k.a.
Fernleaf
Lavender: With its soft, lacy foliage and abundant blue-violet
flowers, Fernleaf grows 2 feet tall and makes an unusual, elegant
addition to a lavender collection or butterfly garden. In cold winter
areas, grow it as a container plant and move it indoors under lights or
to a protected area near a warm brick wall, since it is only hardy to
zone 8.
Rosa chinensis, Angel Wings
 Renee
first saw this little beauty on a seed buying trip to the Netherlands
about 15 years ago and immediately fell in love with it. A Dutch selection of Rosa chinensis, Angel Wings miniature rose behaves
differently than other rose species you may already have in your garden.
A small open bush covered with delicate shell pink, rose and white
flowers, it grows fuller every season, reaching an eventual height of
24-36". In Renee's trial gardens, she grows Angel Wings both in
containers and also in the borders around her house. It's a wonderful
luxury to have a whole big bed of these plants with their dainty soft
pastel flowers in bloom all season every summer.
 Amazingly,
Angel Wings often produces flower buds when the plants are
still tiny- I've seen it start to bloom at only 8-12 weeks. Plants are
small the first year, reaching just 12 inches, but they really form
lovely small bushes in their second blooming season and grow to maturity
to bloom nonstop for years. Although a high percentage of plants have
semi-double and double blossoms, there is always interesting variation
in flower form. Some plants have the scent of wild roses, others have
little or no fragrance at all. Angel Wings makes an excellent and
reliable landscape filler, and goes well with all old-fashioned flowers.
Hardy to Zone 4.
Growing lavender seeds
 Start
lavender seeds 6-8 weeks before the last frost in your area. Space
them " to 1" apart in a flat of well-drained sterile seed starting mix, and
cover them only about 1/8", since light aids germination. Keep the
flats in a warm place, about 70 degrees, and moist but not soggy-water
in the morning so that the flats aren't too wet in cooler nighttime
temperatures, causing the seedlings to damp off. Be patient; seeds can
sometimes take a month to germinate, but I have often been pleasantly
surprised to have seedlings germinate within the first two weeks.
Although I haven't found it to be worth the trouble, some gardeners
recommend cold-stratifying lavender seeds to improve the germination
rate. The simplest way to do this is to place lavender seeds into a ziplock bag of moistened seed starting mix and leave it in the
refrigerator for 3 weeks. Then sow as above. When seedlings emerge,
provide strong lights so that they don't grow weak and leggy.
When the seedlings have several sets of true leaves, gently loosen the
soil around the plants and transfer them into a 2" pot or 2" apart in
deeper flats of well-drained planting mix. Since nutrients quickly leach
out of containers, add some granular slow-release fertilizer to the
soil. Snip off the growing tip to encourage branching. When the plants
have grown about 3 inches tall, the weather is warm, and all danger of
frost is past, gradually expose the plants to outdoor conditions over
the course of a week, being careful not to leave them in full sun right
away. Finally, plant them outdoors 12-24" apart into well-drained garden
soil. In particularly moist, humid areas, plant them at the wider
spacing recommendation, so that air circulates freely around the plants.
In poorly drained, damp soil, lavender roots are highly susceptible to
rotting. If you have heavy, soggy clay, or live in a rainy climate as I
do here in Western Oregon, loosen your soil as deeply as possible, pile
on well-drained compost (preferably without too much peat moss, which
retains moisture), and plant the lavender on raised mounds. Adding lime
to acid soils also helps improve its chances, since lavender prefers a
soil pH of 6.0-8. Lavender often does not require additional nitrogen
fertilizer; in fact, too much nitrogen can result in less fragrant
flowers and plants that are more sensitive to frost and fungal
infections.
Lavender will probably produce several flowering stems in the first
season, but cut these off either when they appear or, if you really
can't bring yourself to do that, just after the first buds start to open
so that the plant can focus its energy on developing strong root and
vegetative growth, rather than flowers and seeds. In subsequent years,
cut back flowering stems after 1/3 of the buds have opened to about 1/3
of the new growth. Provide winter protection in cold areas. Mulch the
plants with sand, gravel or bark, leaving 6" around the stem of the
plant so air circulates at the base.
Growing roses from seed:
 Although
Angel Wings rose does not require stratification, germination
can sometimes be erratic, extending over the course of one month. About 6 weeks
before the last frost date, sow seeds 2" apart and " deep into
well-drained seed starting mix. Keep the flats at 60-70 degrees and the
soil moist, though not soggy. Provide strong lights as soon as seedlings
emerge. When the plants are large enough to handle, transplant them into
deeper flats or 4" pots. Feed the soil around the seedlings every 2
weeks with half-strength fertilizer solution. Flower buds may appear
early, but it is not necessary to remove them. Harden the plants off by
gradually acclimating them to outdoor conditions and plant them 18"
apart into fertile, well-drained soil. If you are growing them in
containers, use at least 2 gallon pots to make room for the roots to
spread, and incorporate a balanced slow-release fertilizer into the
planting soil. Unlike many roses, Angel Wings does not require being cut
back in the winter; rather, it benefits only from an occasional light
trimming and shaping after bloom to keep it productive, attractive and
healthy.
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