Live Lavender Grosso Plant Starter – Fragrant Perennial Herb – Outdoor

Overview

The lavender Grosso plant is a highly sought-after hybrid known for its robust growth, abundant dark purple flowers, and exceptionally high oil content. This live starter plant provides an excellent foundation for establishing a thriving lavender patch in your garden or a fragrant focal point in containers. Lavandula x intermedia ‘Grosso’ is a classic French hybrid lavender, celebrated for its strong, aromatic fragrance that makes it ideal for a variety of uses, from essential oil production to culinary applications and crafting. This perennial herb is a beautiful and functional addition to any outdoor space, promising years of beauty and a soothing aroma. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting, this live lavender plant offers an accessible way to enjoy the many benefits of lavender.

Known for its calming and relaxing properties, lavender creates a serene atmosphere, making it perfect for a meditation corner or a peaceful bedroom garden. Beyond its aesthetic and aromatic appeal, lavender Grosso plant actively contributes to local ecosystems by attracting vital pollinators like bees and butterflies, enriching your garden’s biodiversity. This drought-resistant plant, once established, thrives with minimal maintenance, proving itself a resilient and rewarding choice for a wide range of climates and gardening styles. Its adaptability also makes it an excellent candidate for container gardening, allowing for easy relocation and arrangement to suit your evolving landscape designs.

Key Benefits

Incorporating a lavender Grosso plant into your garden offers numerous advantages, from enhancing the sensory experience to providing practical uses. Its hardy nature and captivating fragrance ensure it’s a valuable addition.

• Exceptional Fragrance and Beauty: Enjoy the intense, soothing aroma of this fragrant perennial herb. Its dark purple flowers create a stunning visual display, adding elegance and charm to any garden setting or patio. The high oil content makes it particularly potent and long-lasting.
• Attracts Pollinators: This lavender variety is a magnet for bees and butterflies, making it an excellent choice for supporting local ecosystems and enhancing the biodiversity of your garden. It’s a key plant for any pollinator-friendly landscape.
• Drought-Resistant and Low Maintenance: Once established, the lavender Grosso plant is remarkably drought-tolerant and requires minimal watering and care, making it suitable for busy gardeners or those in drier climates. This resilience contributes to its popularity as a garden staple.
• Versatile Use: Beyond its ornamental value, ‘Grosso’ lavender is prized for its high oil content, making it perfect for essential oil distillation, crafting sachets, making lavender wands, or as a culinary herb. It’s also excellent for cutting flowers for fresh or dried arrangements.
• Container Gardening Friendly: Its manageable size and growth habit make it ideal for container gardening, allowing you to enjoy its beauty and fragrance on patios, balconies, or in small spaces. This flexibility makes lavender Grosso plant accessible for various living situations.
• Calming Properties: The renowned scent of lavender is known to promote relaxation and reduce stress, contributing to a more peaceful environment around your home. Having a live lavender plant nearby can offer daily therapeutic benefits.
• Hardy Perennial: As a perennial, this lavender will return year after year, providing continuous beauty and fragrance without the need for annual replanting. It’s a long-term investment in your garden’s appeal.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Proper care is essential for a flourishing lavender Grosso plant. This robust perennial thrives with specific conditions that mimic its Mediterranean origins. For optimal growth and prolific blooms, ensure your plant receives full sun exposure, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily. Good air circulation around the plant is also crucial to prevent fungal issues, especially in humid environments. When considering the best location, remember that more sun generally leads to more fragrant flowers and healthier growth. For those interested in growing lavender, providing adequate sunlight is the first and most important step.

The most critical aspect of caring for a live lavender plant is providing well-drained soil. Lavender absolutely detests ‘wet feet,’ which can lead to root rot. If your garden soil is heavy clay, amend it generously with sand, gravel, or organic matter to improve drainage. A slightly alkaline soil pH (6.5-7.5) is also preferred. When watering, allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings, especially after the plant is established. Overwatering is a common mistake that can quickly harm lavender. Fertilization is generally not necessary, as lavender thrives in lean soil; too much fertilizer can lead to leggy growth and fewer flowers. Many find that understanding lavender plant care is simpler than expected once these basic needs are met.

To encourage compact growth and abundant flowering, it’s recommended to pinch back young lavender plants 5-10 days after transplanting them to their final container or garden spot. After the first flush of blooms, cut back the spent flower stalks by about one-third of their length. This practice not only keeps the plant tidy but also stimulates new growth and potentially a second, smaller bloom cycle. In colder zones (USDA zones 5-9), ensure adequate winter protection, such as a layer of mulch, to protect the roots from extreme cold. This attention to detail in growing lavender will result in a beautiful and aromatic addition to your garden for years to come.

Size & Details

This offering is for a live lavender plant starter, specifically the ‘Grosso’ variety of Lavandula x intermedia. Each plant is shipped in a 1″ x 1″ x 1 1/4” container, providing a strong, healthy root system ready for transplanting. While plant sizes may vary slightly due to natural growth patterns, each starter is carefully selected for vitality. Upon arrival, the plant will be a young, actively growing specimen, typically ranging from a few inches to several inches in height, depending on the growing season and specific batch. These starters are ideal for quickly establishing a significant presence in your garden or in larger pots.

The lavender Grosso plant is a vigorous grower and, once mature, can reach a height of 24-30 inches with a similar spread, forming a beautiful, mounded shrub. It typically begins to bloom in late spring to early summer, with successive flushes throughout the season if deadheaded. With proper lavender plant care, you can expect these plants to thrive for many years, providing continuous fragrance and beauty. This starter is a perfect way to begin your journey of growing lavender, offering a robust foundation for a successful garden.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big will my lavender Grosso plant get? A: Once mature and established, your ‘Grosso’ lavender plant can typically reach a height of 24-30 inches and spread to a similar width, forming an attractive, rounded bush.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The lavender Grosso plant is primarily an outdoor plant, thriving in full sun and well-drained soil. While it can be grown in containers, it requires significant light to flourish and is best suited for outdoor garden spaces or sunny patios.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, ‘Grosso’ lavender is considered quite easy to care for once established. It is drought-resistant and requires minimal maintenance, making it a great choice for both experienced and novice gardeners interested in growing lavender.
• Q: How much sunlight does this live lavender plant need? A: Lavender ‘Grosso’ requires full sun, which means at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day, for optimal growth, flowering, and fragrance.
• Q: What condition will the plant arrive in? A: We do our best to pack and ship the healthiest available plants. While some minor leaf yellowing or damage may occur during transit due to lack of light, the plant is chosen for its strong root system and will recover with proper care.
• Q: When is the best time to plant this fragrant perennial herb? A: The best time to plant lavender starters is in spring after the last frost, or in early fall in warmer climates. This allows the plant time to establish its roots before extreme temperatures.
• Q: What kind of soil does lavender Grosso plant prefer? A: Lavender thrives in well-drained, slightly alkaline soil. If your soil is heavy clay, amend it with sand or gravel to improve drainage, as lavender dislikes soggy conditions.
• Q: Can I use this lavender for culinary purposes? A: While ‘Grosso’ has a high oil content and is very fragrant, it’s primarily used for essential oils, potpourri, and crafts. Culinary lavender typically refers to English lavender varieties, which have a sweeter, less camphoraceous flavor.
• Q: Will this live lavender plant attract bees? A: Yes, ‘Grosso’ lavender is highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators, making it an excellent addition to a pollinator garden.
• Q: What are the hardiness zones for growing lavender ‘Grosso’? A: Lavender ‘Grosso’ is hardy in USDA zones 5-9, meaning it can withstand winter temperatures in these regions with appropriate care.