When and how long the lavender blooms depends on the variety as well as the climate in which it grows. Thus, it can be assumed that lavender in warmer climates, such as the Mediterranean, has a longer flowering period than in colder climates. However, the flowering can definitely be prolonged by proper care even in our latitudes, the lavender plants can be made to bloom for the second time. Worldwide, the decorative plants can be found.
Flowering time
In the climatic zones here, the lavender bloom begins much later than it does in the Mediterranean. This is mainly dependent on the variety. The widespread Schopflavendel belongs here to the early-flowering and also best-known types of lavender. Because the plant blooms the longest, even in the local latitudes. In Europe, therefore, amateur gardeners can enjoy the decorative and pleasantly fragrant herbs in the following period as follows:
- most varieties of lavender only from mid-June
- some even in July
- early summer here still too cool
- also depends on the weather
- the more sun, the better
If you plant several lavender varieties, early and late, in a flower bed at the same time, you can also extend the lavender blooming season. But at the latest in autumn, when the days become cooler and shorter, even the last herbaceous plant withers at the end of September.
Pruning for longer duration
If lavender plants are cut back in the summer, then they often bloom a second time in late summer. Therefore, if the flowers are faded in late July or early August, immediate action should be taken to extend the time of fragrant flowers. Pruning should be done as follows:
- cut all withered inflorescences
- shorten by about one third
- remove before the seeds are formed
- leave branches with leaves
In this way, with a little luck, decorative flowers will form a second time in August-September. If, on the other hand, the lavender plants are to be harvested and processed further, then the inflorescences are cut while the flowers are still open. Also in such a case, as a rule, a second flowering occurs.
Different varieties
A prolonged flowering period in the local latitudes can be well achieved if several different varieties of the graceful lavender are planted in the garden bed. Thus, the crested lavender is the first to form its flowers. In warm climates, this can be as early as May, and by June it has bloomed in all climates. True lavender begins to show its abundant flowers in early June, especially in mountainous regions. Furthermore, the following lavender plants are worth mentioning:
Speiclavender mid-June
Lavandula end of June
all varieties until about the end of August
Depending on the variety and the right pruning in summer, the sea of flowers of the graceful Lavandula can also be extended until September.
Flowering in Italy and France
If you want to experience the lavender bloom in Provence or Italy, you should choose May or June for your travel time. Because just in these two months the wide fields in France and Tuscany shine in a blue sea as far as the eye can see. Since the fields here are planted for further use, the lavender flowers are usually cut when they have just bloomed. However, a lavandula growing wild or cultivated in a garden as an ornamental plant has a longer flowering period in the warm climate than in the local latitudes. Thus, the following duration can be assumed:
- the lavender flowering period begins earlier
- first flowers appear in May
- blooms until the end of August
Thus, two different flowering periods can be assumed here. Firstly, that of the lavender growing wild or not used commercially in the gardens, which blooms between May and August. On the other hand, the lavender used for commercial purposes in the vast cultivated fields of Tuscany and Provence. This flowering can be admired mostly between May and June due to the early harvest.
Flowering period in Spain
Mallorca, the Balearic island belonging to Spain, also has the right climate to grow lavender. Thus, the purple fields with the decorative flowers as well as the breathtaking fragrance are also offered to the viewer here between May and June. Here too, as in France and Tuscany, the lavender plants are grown for commercial purposes. The exact time and length of flowering lavender plants in the Balearic Islands, again depends on the use:
- in May the first flowers appear
- in the fields until mid-June
- then it is harvest time
- in private gardens until August
- depending on pruning also until September
Since the main cultivation area Mallorca has the same climate as the other Mediterranean countries, the lavender plants bloom here from May until well into late summer and early autumn.
Lavender flower in Africa and Asia
There are also lavender plants in Africa and Asia. However, the lavender known here in the local latitudes and in the cultivated fields along the Mediterranean does not occur there, because other varieties prevail here. Thus, in Africa and Asian countries, the following variety is mainly found:
- Green Tooth Lavender
- blooms between June and August
- in these countries not as a cultivated plant
- grow wild
In Asia, the lavender plants are not very common, there are only a few specimens growing wild here. In North Africa, on the other hand, which is close to the European Mediterranean, there are also many varieties native to Europe. This is because, especially in the Oriental times, the lavender plants were also used commercially here. Due to the lively trade connections between the Mediterranean countries and North Africa, the plants were also shipped. The flowering period here is similar to those of lavandula from the Mediterranean areas, because of a similar climate.