Can I Plant Lavender In Kentucky?
Mila Asked
Can I plant lavender in Kentucky?
The Gardener’s Answer
Hi, Mila: Lavender is such a great addition to the sun-loving garden. It has a nice bluish-green foliage with sweet flowers but best of all is its unmistakable fragrance. Used for culinary purposes, extracted for its oil, or simply used as potpourris, all lavender can be grown in Kentucky during the warmer months but if you are looking for a perennial herb to add to your garden, there are three varieties that do well for Kentucky gardeners. Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’, ‘Munstead,’ and the hybrid ‘Provence’ are all reliably hardy for us. They demand to be grown in a minimum of six hours of direct sun and well-drained soil. This is a plant that can adapt to a range of pH and soil types but will not tolerate soil that has any kind of drainage issue. Native to the Mediterranean this plant likes it hot and dry. Given time it can become a woody shrub. Pruning back as the flowers fade in the summer will encourage more to produce.
