Lavender seeds (herb)

I was just filling in my spread sheet, when i noticed the comments in the spread sheet from Tom Clothier's site
in his comments, it says chill for 1 year then for germinating 6 wks @ 39ºF, move to 65ºF for 1-3 mths germ

so... are mine even gonna germinate this year?? I mean.. they are only annuals... i'd hate for them to germinate in Aug, only to die at the first frost.

all i did was -- on Feb 9th, sprinkle the seeds onto the soil, pat them and then dampen the soil... then put them out into the yard.

Any comments ?

TIA,

Terese

Wintersown in April. Lavender germinated within 2 weeks.

Thanks Shirley.... I'll keep hoping then.

If i do them again next year... i'll wait til April.

I WSed Lavender Lady last year on 2/28. I don't know when they germinated but they did well. I still have 4 of them planted in a bed and they look like they are trying to put out new growth. Though they're supposed to be cold hardy to zone 6 I've never had one survive a winter here. The jury is still out on these but I am hopeful

I have some verbena bonariensis trying to spring back too, though they are only supposed to be hardy to zone 7. And there are millions of self-sown ones. I'll have enough to give to everyone in the subdivision who wants them.

And what can I expect from hollyhock Summer Carnival? I WSed them last year and they bloomed like crazy their first year. Many resources list them as biennial, some call them short lived perennials. If indeed they do come back, will they bloom again? These are putting out new growth on the old stems, these are not new seedlings.

It truly is like summer here with temps around 80 the past few days. Perennials are trying to wake up and self-sown seedlings are starting to appear. Problem is I don't know what most are- time will tell I guess. Or maybe they're all weeds!

Karen

>>maybe they're all weeds!

Me too Karen. Back where i had wild flowers last year... stuff is poppin' up, but i have no idea what they are... my luck, they are weeds.

The variety I grew was Lavender "Munstead", which is more compact for smaller gardens.

Karen: Sometimes wintersown mysteries turn out to be the best surprises! Let us know what they are.

Teresa, I sowed perennial lavender (L. verea and L. augustifolia) on February 6. They germinated on March 22 and 24, respectively. Karen, I'm interested in the comments on the hollyhock, summer carnival, too, but my guess is if they're putting on new growth, they will also rebloom for you. I haven't grown them but have some seedlings in paper pots. I have them listed as a perennial and hope that's true here in zone 7.

I did notice this morning, i have 2 tiny lavender sprouts. I"m thinking there were 30 seeds... but i'd have to check on that.

at least now i'm not as worried.

Thanks,

Terese

Great news, Terese! Since you've already seen 2 tiny lavender sprouts the rest will follow. Germination can be irregular, so don't let that worry you.

Terese: Just curious- what kind of lavender is it?

Karen

Karen,

i ordered them from Gurney's
http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=14593

the packet does not have a lot of info, just HERB, Lavender -- so i provided the link.

says 100 seeds. I'm up to 2 sprouts.

No, the website doesn't give much info either. It does say that it's perennial but doesn't say in what zones.

Karen

well..... i was thinking they were annuals, but the site does say perennials.

I just like lavender and was hoping to grow a "row" of it. I have some on the south side of my house, dwarf type, near my rose bushes, since i once heard it keeps the aphids away.

paid about $10 per at a local nursery... i almost fell over at the register (there were no price tags on them.) and when it rang up for over $40!! but i bought'em anyways. Honestly, i dont think they are anything spectacular.... I'll have to find out what kind they are.... more of a gray-ish foliage.

I found a pdf on their site.... trying to find Lavender
It's Platt Hill Nursery, in IL.

I'm thinking the dwarf plants I have are "Munstead". They droop over too, not stand up tall.

This message was edited Mar 27, 2007 3:56 PM

I have been practicing growing various types of lavender in pots for the last few years. Zone 4a doesn't offer many perennial options, but I did take a chance and plant some hardy lavender (Hidcode - angustifolia) last summer. It's too early here to tell if it survived the winter. If you are looking for a good basic resource on lavender types, get the Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin - Growing and Using Lavender. It's 31 pages and provides good overall information. One of my favorite types of lavender is Spanish lavender. Unfortunately, mine didn't survive overwintering inside. I'd be interested in any lavender seeds people have to share.

Adding my two c.s late, but my lavender lady , sown Feb.4 germinated on March 20, don't know how they are doing now, since we are having some bad weather and I can't step out right not. If they did not survive I will post.