The Best Guide to Choosing the Right Lavender Varieties

There are so many lavender varieties that it can be a little bit overwhelming to navigate. We are here to help you understand which lavenders to choose for your own garden.

Lavender Varieties

Let’s start with a really quick basic biology lesson. Lavender is part of the lamiaceae (Lay-mi-a-see-aye) family it’s genus is lavandula and there are 47 know species of the lavandula genus. Okey dokey, so what does that mean? It means that all lavenders are part of the mint family and that there are 47 types of lavender to choose from. And they are all different.

Lavindin

There are also hybrids of each lavender called lavindins or lavender x intermedia (meaning it’s cross bred) which means that there are actually hundreds of different lavenders to choose from. You may think of lavender as a leggy stem with small purple blossoms at the tip that is used in bath and body products, but it’s so much more! There are different colors of lavender, different sizes and even different smells and tastes. That’s important information when you’re considering which lavender will be best for the craft your planning.

Use

Lavender is used in home decor, cuisine, bath and body, perfumes, and even has medicinal uses. It is the most versatile plant! So how do you find which one to use for which craft? I’ll make it easy so you don’t have to go through 47 different lavenders to find just the right one. Of course this information is strictly basic so if you need more in depth information check out this {book} which tells you all about the different lavenders. I’ll break it down into five categories.

Culinary Lavenders

You can use any kind of lavender for culinary use but there are some varieties that are “sweeter” and therefore more preferred to use in your dishes. Lavandula Angustafoia (English Lavender) is considered the best tasting lavender, particularly the Munstead and Jean Davis varieties. You can use the oils or the buds, fresh or dry in any dish just remember with lavender oil a little goes a loooooong way (just ask my husband who put 10 drops in his cup of tea once).

Home Decor

We mentioned that lavender comes in many different sizes. There are dwarf varieties and giant varieties so with that you’re going to have a vast disparity in the length of your stems between all the different lavenders. So if you’re making say, a wreath or floral arrangement then you probably want a long stem variety such as Fred Boutin or Hidcote Giant. Sweet Lavender, Sachet Lavender, Seal Lavender & Phenomenal Lavender are all wonderful varieties for any sort of home craft you want to make because of their color and fragrance.

Medicinal & Aromatherapy

Because of its high oil yield Grosso lavender is the best to grow if you are thinking of producing oils for medicinal or aromatherapy uses. However Vera Lavender is considered the best Quality Lavender for medicinal uses.

Landscape

Hedges and perennial beds are the areas most concerned with the types of lavender for landscaping.

• If you want a true English lavender for its traditional lavender look then go for the Vera English lavender variety.
• For Hedges depending on the height that you want your hedge to grow consider Allardi Lavender (2-3 feet)
• For perennial beds that have lots of space use Hidcote Giant Lavender, Phenomenal Lavender, or Lavandula Dentata (French or Spanish Lavender)
• Most of the Lavindins or x intermedia are drought tolerant and hardy
• French lavenders are the longest bloomers

Lavender Varieties for Cosmetics & Oils

Grosso Lavender is the highest oil producing lavender. It is widely used in cosmetic industries for lotions, soaps, shampoos essential oils and perfumes. Try making you own lotion with our favorite lotion recipe.

Bonus! Best Buds

Provence Lavender produces tight buds that come off of the stem cleanly and neatly. They are a beautiful light purple blossom that is iconic of the lavandula genus.

Phew!! That was a lot of information! We hope it helps you choose the lavender that will be the best for you. These are only the tip of the iceberg however so do some more research because we may not have mentioned a lavender that you want to consider. This list is by no means exhaustive.

Be sure to check out our YouTube channel for more information on Lavender Varieties and how to use them.

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