How to Grow Lavender in Ohio and What to Plant with Lavender
Our Timbuk Farms Lavender Fest is coming up soon (June 14-15 and June 21-22), and part of our festival is being able to pick your own lavender from our lavender fields. So, in honor of Lavender Fest, we’re going to guide you on how to grow lavender in Ohio and show you what to plant with lavender as a companion plant.
Why Grow Lavender
Lavender is one of the most beneficial plants you can have in your Ohio garden. Plus, who doesn't love purple flowers and flowering plants in their gardens or herb gardens? Some of its benefits include:
Supporting local pollinators in Ohio, such as bees and butterflies,
Attracting pollinators to your garden,
Having a calming fragrance that can help you to relax and de-stress,
Having many uses, including using lavender in cooking, soapmaking, candlemaking, and potpourri creation, and
Deterring unwanted pests, such as deer and rabbits.
How to Care for Lavender
Lavender is a sun-loving shrub that doesn’t need much water. Once you’ve established it, it’ll be one of your favorite low-maintenance plants to have in your garden. To grow lavender, follow these tips.
1. Sun Requirements
Give your lavender plants full sun, which means about 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight each day. Consider planting your lavender in south-facing areas to maximize the sun it gets.
2. Good Drainage
Lavender hates wet feet, so make sure that your lavender has good drainage in whatever garden bed you plant it in. Ohio’s soil can be clay-heavy. So, you may need to amend the soil with sand, perlite, or grit to improve the soil’s drainage.
Another option is to grow your lavender in raised beds to prevent water from pooling around the plant. You can plant your lavender in a container too. This helps you control the soil and drainage better.
Wherever you decide to plant lavender, make sure that the soil has a pH around 6.5 to 7.5. You can get a soil testing kit at Timbuk Farm’s Garden Center in central Ohio. The testing kit will help you determine if your soil’s pH levels are right for your plants.
3. Water Requirements
Water your lavender regularly when it is first getting established. After its first season, your lavender will be drought-tolerant and need very little (if any!) water throughout the growing season.
Make sure not to overwater lavender or else you can give the plant root rot and kill the plant. Also, less water can help concentrate the oils in the plant to make for more fragrant lavender. Keep this in mind if you plan to harvest your lavender flowers to make dried lavender.
4. Pruning
Pruning encourages your lavender to put out more blooms. Plus, it will prevent your lavender from becoming leggy and woody while maintaining the lavender’s attractive and classic shrub shape.
After a bloom fades, cut the flower stalk and about one third of the green growth on that same stalk. This will encourage air to flow throughout the plant. Then, in the spring, remove any straggly stems or dead branches.
Companion Plants for Lavender
Companion planting is when you grow different plants in the same area (or in the same garden) that benefit each other in some way. Think of companion planting as making sure your plants have helpful buddies. Lavender grows well with the following companion plants:
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrot
Coneflower (Echinacea)
Kale
Marigold
Oregano
Rose
Rosemary
Sage
Sedum (Stonecrop)
Thyme
Visit Lavender FesT
Growing lavender in your Ohio garden has so many benefits. Make sure to come to our Lavender Fest this summer so you can get your own Timbuk Farms lavender and enjoy all the family-friendly activities we’ll have. We'll also have food, a Kids Fun Farm, and live music. Lavender Fest is a family-friendly event that is definitely a "must-do" this summer!
Also, make sure to come by our Garden Center for all of your summer gardening supplies and for the healthiest plants in Ohio.
