Plant Library

Other Names:  Gray French Lavender, Toothed Lavender

Description:

This dense, silvery-gray variety of French Lavender is covered with lavender-blue flowers through summer; scent is more delicate than the species; an excellent choice for low informal hedging, borders and formal gardens

Ornamental Features

Gray Leaved French Lavender has masses of beautiful spikes of fragrant lavender flowers rising above the foliage from early spring to late fall, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive fragrant needle-like leaves are grayish green in color with showy white variegation and tinges of silver. The foliage often turns coppery-bronze in fall.

Landscape Attributes

Gray Leaved French Lavender is a dense multi-stemmed annual with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Gray Leaved French Lavender is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Gray Leaved French Lavender will grow to be about 32 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this slow-growing plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type, but has a definite preference for alkaline soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America.

Gray Leaved French Lavender is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.