Lavender cultivation

[Merlander]

Originally Posted by KimK

I have about two acres of land at about 3800' in Southern New Mexico. It was used years ago for cotton but has been fallow over ten years. I have access to water for some seasonal irrigation. We get most of our rain in the Summer. I am intrigued by lavender. I figure that even if I never manage to cultivate it for sale or some type of use, it would look better than it does now and smell great. What thoughts do you all have on this?

First off, I am not a gardening expert, but I discovered something since my last post: Spanish Lavender = French Lavender! The Spanish is the one that didn't grow for us in the foothills of ABQ. Here are two links for the different plants:

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plan...ustifolia.html

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plan...a_dentata.html

The French/Spanish is for zone 8-10 so check your zone. The English is for zones 5-9.

The French has lower water requirements, according to the links. Having said that, we had absolutely no problem with our English over the past summer, and ABQ is very dry. If you have access to irrigation that is a plus.

The English is the variety known for lavender fragrance, typically used for perfumes, etc.

I would think your zone may be closer to that of Dallas/Texas, but your overall weather patterns are probably more similar to Albuq. So it's not an easy decision, although your post indicated you'd try the French. You may want to put an English or two in there just to see how they compare. I'd be interested in knowing how it turns out next year!

p.s. Btw there is extensive lavender cultivation in the "valley" areas of Albuq - you may want to check what varieties they would recommend for your area. They grow it on a commercial scale.

[Merlander]

Originally Posted by nativeDallasite

We could never grow it in Texas. Had trouble with it even in England...the French lavender grew like a champ.

p.s. The English lavender is not native to England - it comes from mediterranean areas, primarily the Pyrenees mtns of Spain!

[sandra1997]

I would love to grow it but i don't no where to get. I live rio rancho NM
So where can i get a lavender plant i want to grow it badly

[TheDragonslayer]

Lavender grows easy from seed and healthier, just sow the seed in a course sand mix and let it sit from fall, through the winter and in spring the seeds should germinate. They are easy to separate and take the stress of transplanting like champs. I think you can chill the seeds in the vegetable crisper for two weeks and they germinate easier. Rosemary also starts well from seed, both attract bees of all sorts. I maintain yards and find lavender seedlings in the gravel paths all the time, I pluck them out and transplant them to where I want them and they typically take. A seedling can get to blooming size in one year, about a foot across. I have an English lavender in my front yard that I planted back in 2001, it got to 5 feet tall and 4 wide, a wind storm broke it apart, but I was able to trim it back with good new growth this year. We get wet here, so I have it planted in a bed raised 16 inches above soil line and it does very well.