How to Grow Lavender from Seed in 8 Easy Steps

Last Updated on September 17, 2024

Interested in growing lavender from seed? Here’s everything you need to know about how to grow lavender from seed from Master Gardener Georgia Lund.

GROWING LAVENDER FROM SEED

Every plant has to earn its keep in my landscape and lavender does that quite well. This low-maintenance perennial asks little of me, but gives me beautiful, fragrant flowers that attract beneficial insects to my garden.

Plus the leaves of lavender plants also have that lovely lavender scent. You can use lavender leaves in homemade potpourri, DIY lavender sachets, or in relaxing lavender bath salts.

Growing loads of lavender means you’ll not only have beautiful perennial herbs in your garden, but if you preserve some of your harvest, you’ll also have a wonderful calming herb for soothing stress all year long.

Lavender (Lavandula) is a member of the mint family, along with catnip and catmint, lemon balm, and creeping Charlie, and it’s a top herb to consider planting in your medicinal herb garden.

If you’ve ever shopped for plants at a nursery, you know getting as many plants as you want can add up to a serious chunk of change.

On the other hand, most seed packets cost under three dollars, and sometimes they contain hundreds of seeds!

So starting your own lavender plants from seed can save you a bundle, especially if you want a lot of them.

Growing lavender from seed also gives you many more options for varieties of lavender you can grow.

Starting seeds, especially for perennial plants like lavender, can be a bit finicky, which is why so many gardeners are willing to pay for plants someone else has successfully started. If you follow the instructions for growing lavender from seed below, however, you should get plenty of lavender seedlings to plant in your garden.

BENEFITS OF PLANTING LAVENDER IN THE GARDEN

Lavender is a natural mosquito repellant and will help you enjoy summer evenings outdoors when planted in the garden and flower beds. A couple of containers of lavender placed on the porch add color, and fragrance, and keep the mosquitoes away so I can get more enjoyment from porch sitting during the summer.

I also plant lavender near my vegetable garden to attract beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies while repelling troublesome pests that hate the smell of lavender.

Lavender is ideal to use as an organic pest control for your garden. Plant lavender around the perimeter of your garden to repel harmful pests and attract beneficial ones.

You can bring that useful scent indoors to deter other insects as well. I keep homemade sachets of dried lavender in my closets to repel moths.

Use these tips for growing lavender from seeds so you can enjoy the many benefits this hard-working plant offers.

HOW TO GROW LAVENDER FROM SEED

Growing lavender from seeds can be a bit tricky, but once the plants become established in your garden, these lovely perennial plants will produce fragrant flowers for years.

Established lavender plants require minimal maintenance and will fill the summer air with their delicious fragrance.

CHOOSING LAVENDER SEEDS

In general, there are three main types of lavender seeds you can grow: English, Spanish, or French. But there are some great hybrids to choose from as well.

When choosing which lavender to plant, consider plant hardiness, ease of maintenance, and other qualities that you may be looking for in lavender.

I have found English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) to have the strongest fragrance and best oil production. This variety will reach a mature size of 3 feet tall and equally as wide and produce spikes of fragrant flowers that will range in color from lavender, bluish-purple, violet-blue, and pinkish-white.

French lavender has a light fragrance with notes of rosemary and pine and is the longest-blooming variety. In areas with frost, French lavender will bloom from spring until the first frost of fall. In warm, frost-free climates, the plant will bloom year-round.

Spanish lavender produces an abundance of rich dark purple pine-cone-shaped flowers that have dark purple bracts. The plant has strong stems with smooth, light-green foliage, and at maturity will be 12 to18 inches tall.

Any of these 3 types or any lavender hybrid will be suitable for landscape beauty and fragrance, attracting beneficial pollinators and repelling harmful plant pests, and can be used for making soaps, crafts, potpourri, herbal medicines, or for culinary applications.

You can find many types of lavender seeds at top suppliers like those below.

GROWING LAVENDER FROM SEEDS

Lavender seeds must go through a period of ‘cold stratification’ before they will germinate. Don’t let this intimidate you or stop you from growing lavender from seeds. You can easily cold stratify your lavender seeds by placing them in a covered container of moist soil and putting the container inside the refrigerator for 3 to 6 weeks before planting.

Alternatively, you can put seeds in a damp paper towel in a sealed plastic bag and place that in your refrigerator.

If you’d like to direct-sow your lavender seeds in the garden, they can go through their needed cold period by planting them in late fall or winter as soon as the temperature remains below freezing in your area.

PLANTING LAVENDER SEEDS INDOORS

Lavender seeds are very small and can have a long germination time, typically several weeks. Germination may take longer if the seed is less fresh, up to six weeks.

Lavender seeds will often germinate unevenly, so be patient during the process and always plant extra seeds.

STEPS

1. Find your average last frost date.

If you don’t know your average last frost date, you can look it up by typing your zip code here.

You’ll want to start lavender seeds indoors in late winter 10 to 12 weeks before the last predicted frost date in your area, so the plants will be ready to be planted outdoors when temperatures have warmed enough in spring.

Count backwards 10 to 12 weeks from your last frost date, and then another 3+ weeks to get the timing for beginning cold stratification.

2. Cold stratify your seeds. Place seeds in the refrigerator as described above and leave them there for 3 to 6 weeks.

3. When your lavender seeds have been stratified for a minimum of three weeks, you can plant them. Select the type of tray you want to use. A shallow tray filled with potting soil, individual cell tray, or growing pellets are all fine.

You’ll need organic potting soil and sand for the seed tray or cells. Create a soil mix that is 3 parts potting soil and 1 part sand. Lavender does not grow well in rich organic soil or compost, so do not incorporate compost into the soil

4. Fill almost to the top with potting soil. Do not press down the potting mix. You want it to be fluffy so it can have air space to encourage root development in your seedlings.

5. Moisten the soil or grow pellets just before planting the seeds. Remember to plant extra seeds in case of a low germination rate.

6. Place 1-2 seeds in each hole and scratch a light layer of soil over the top. They should be no more than 1/8 inch deep.

7. Cover the seeded tray with a plastic dome or plastic wrap to help hold in heat and moisture.

8. Place the tray in a warm, bright location. Lavender seeds need light to germinate, so you will need to place the seed tray in a sunny location or use grow lights.

Now you need to wait, and make sure your seeds have what they need to germinate and grow,

The soil needs to remain 60 to 70 degrees F for good germination. A soil thermometer can be used to monitor the temperature.

Lightly spritz the soil with room temperature water once a week during the germination process to keep the soil moist, but don’t let it get too soggy or your seedlings won’t survive.

Allow the seedlings to grow in their cells until 10 to 12 weeks have passed from the time you planted the seeds. In the last week or two, be sure to harden them off, which means gradually exposing them to the windier, cooler, brighter conditions of the garden.

Start with just a couple hours in partial sun on a day that’s not too windy and over 60 degrees. Bring them back in and leave them for increasingly long periods of time and greater sun exposure for 7 to 14 days.

Then you can transplant them to pots or directly in the garden. Cloudy days are considered best for transplanting.

Wait until all danger of frost has passed in the spring before transplanting seedlings. Start with healthy plants that have developed a strong root system.

Prepare soil by incorporating 2 inches of sand into it.

When transplanting seedlings or mature plants, dig a planting hole that’s twice as deep and twice as wide as the root ball of the plant. Space the plants 18 inches apart. Mature plants need plenty of airflow to prevent them from developing diseases.

Place the plant with the top of the root ball even with the soil line and backfill the planting hole with soil. Press the soil firmly all around the root ball and water thoroughly.

HOW TO PLANT LAVENDER SEEDS OUTDOORS

You can also plant lavender seeds outdoors in very early spring, as soon as the danger of frost has passed. The seeds will still need to undergo the cold stratification process 3-6 weeks before outdoor planting if planted in the spring.

If your climate is mild enough, you can also plant lavender seeds outdoors in the winter and allow them to go through a natural cold stratification process.

Whether planting the seeds in winter or spring, the soil will need to be prepared by incorporating sand into the soil. Loosen the soil add 2 inches of sand on top and work that into the soil before planting the seeds.

Select a sunny location for outdoor planting. Lavender thrives in a full-sun location in well-draining soil. Sandy soil will help any lavender variety to have a stronger fragrance. Up to 30% sand is ideal soil for planting and growing lavender.

Plant the seeds 1/4 inch deep into prepared soil. Space the seeds 2 inches apart. The plants will be thinned to 18 inches apart later on. Lightly cover seeds with compost or potting soil.

LAVENDER PLANT CARE

Don’t mulch the plants except in very cold climates. Add a 4-inch layer of straw or wood chips on top of the plants before the ground freezes in early winter to insulate the roots and prevent them from freezing.

Lavender does not need to be fed and only needs a little water during times of drought.

Pruning is all that the care this perennial plant will need to keep it growing strong and looking good. The fragrant flower spikes can be harvested and used fresh or dried in a variety of different ways.

If you’re growing lavender somewhere north of its preferred hardiness, you’ll want to cover it with a layer of straw to give it protection from the cold over the winter.

When you grow lavender from seed, it will take a year for the plants to bloom to their full potential. The plants will flower sparsely in the first season, and then produce abundantly the following season.

GROWING LAVENDER FAQs

CAN YOU GROW LAVENDER FROM SEED IN A CONTAINER?

You can plant lavender directly in your garden or in a container. Containers will need more frequent watering than garden soil.

DOES LAVENDER SPREAD?

Lavender tends to stay in a compact form that you can divide after a few years, one of the best ways to get free plants for your garden.

Lavender will self-seed if you allow the faded flowers to remain on the plants.

CAN YOU GROW LAVENDER IN COLD CLIMATES?

The most common type of lavender you’re likely to come across is English or ‘Munstead’ lavender, which are hardy to Zone 5. If you’re in a colder climate, look for ‘hardy’ lavender, and consider adding a layer of straw to insulate it from extreme cold.

Spanish and French lavenders, however, will only come back in zones 8 and warmer.

WILL LAVENDER BLOOM IN ITS FIRST YEAR?

Perennials like lavender typically don’t bloom in their first year, but should begin blooming in their second year.

HARVESTING AND PRESERVING LAVENDER

Bringing in some of your homegrown lavender to dry is a wonderful way to enjoy your garden plants when the growing season ends (and one of many coping strategies I recommend if you’re one of the plant lovers who hate winter).

You can leave out dried lavender bouquets, which are decorative and also smell delicious.

In addition, you can use the buds and leaves to make DIY lavender sachets to freshen the air and repel pests.

To dry lavender:

Harvest your lavender just before the purple flowers reach full bloom. This is when the floral fragrance is at its peak.

Snip individual flower stalks at the point where the leaves and stalk meet.

Lay the stalks out in bunches of six and gather together at the cut stem end. Secure the bunch by tightly wrapping one end of a length of string around the ends. Leave the other string end loose to use to hang the bundle up.

Use the loose end of string to secure bundle(s) upside down in a warm, dry area away from direct sunlight. The flowers will be dry and ready for use in 1-3 weeks.

Enjoy your lovely lavender harvest!

If you love growing herbs and other useful plants, be sure to check out some of our other growing guides:

• Growing elderberry
• How to grow garlic
• Strawberry companion plants
• Drought-tolerant ground covers
• Growing a Front Yard Vegetable Garden

Find loads more savvy garden info in our gardening archives.

Save this info on how to grow lavender from seed for later!

Georgia Lund is a seasoned gardener who earned a Master Gardener’s Certification through the University of Georgia. She enjoys growing a wide range of organic vegetables, fruits, flowers, and trees and teaching others how to do the same.