Lavender is a stunning aromatic plant that brings a burst of color to your backyard. It’s additionally certainly one of my favorite crops to make use of for crafts and recipes. Right here’s the way to harvest lavender in a means that helps you get pleasure from more healthy crops for longer, and provides you an entire lot of attractive lavender to work with. Plus, I’ll present you 24 artistic methods to make use of lavender as soon as harvested!
Lavender is by far my very favorite scent. I adore it contemporary when the crops are in bloom, because it dries across the backyard, in sachets tucked into my pillow at night time, or as bathtub salts after I soak away the aches of the gardening day.
This magical herb is claimed to advertise rest, relieve stress, and even soothe an achy head. Oh, and the bees and butterflies adore it too. We will’t neglect the pollinators.
Too usually, I hear landscapers and gardeners speak about how short-lived lavender is as a backyard plant. After rising it for nearly 15 years in my residence backyard and visiting/interviewing numerous growers and lavender farms, I’ve to say that it could possibly look attractive in your backyard for an entire lot longer, with only a little bit of care.
Once you harvest lavender, you not solely get to make use of the blooms to create delicious DIYs, however you truly assist your plant yield extra blooms and dwell longer too.
This publish will cowl…
When to Harvest Lavender
Like most issues, figuring out the way to get the perfect lavender harvest is all about timing. The precise time will rely in your gardening zone and local weather, however I’ve received a fast trick that may make figuring out when to reap straightforward.
The very best time to reap English lavender is when the flower buds have shaped on the plant however the flowers themselves haven’t but opened. Lavender flowers harvested at the moment of yr will fall off the stems extra simply when dry, making it simpler to gather.
Closed buds will even retain perfume and color longer.
Want a visible? The picture under reveals the phases of bloom. The one on the left has absolutely shaped, closed buds. The center picture has a mixture of open and closed buds. The picture on the best has absolutely open flowers, a few of that are completed blooming. Select buds that appear to be the left picture.
Find out how to Harvest Lavender
To reap lavender, use sharp bypass pruners and collect a small handful of lengthy flower stems. Ensure that you might be forsaking at the very least two units of leaves on the inexperienced a part of the stem. Should you reduce all the way in which again to the woody a part of the stem, that stem is not going to regrow.
I wish to be beneficiant and go away at the very least 3-4 units of leaves on the plant, then return and prune it to 2 units of leaves on the inexperienced stem. This ensures that I’m not damaging the plant that provides me all these lovely flowers!
Proceed accumulating stems in your hand till you could have a nice-sized bundle. Safe the bundle with twine or a rubber band and proceed till the plant is absolutely harvested.
Pruning the crops like it will hold the shrub tidy and evergreen in some colder climates. In case your crops are leggy and also you see plenty of lifeless wooden, it’s a good suggestion to summer time prune them every year till they regain a tidier form.
You possibly can safely prune lavender crops twice within the rising season to assist outline and keep their form.
Find out how to Dry Lavender
After getting harvested lavender, you’ll must dry it out earlier than storing it. Fortunately, that is very straightforward to do.
Dry lavender bunches by hanging them the other way up in a heat, dry spot, out of direct daylight. Below eaves, within the storage, or someplace within the backyard that’s protected is good. You wish to keep away from moisture as a lot as potential.
My herb dryer is an outdated portray ladder outfitted with some hooks for the twine. However I’ve additionally dried lavender alongside a shady fence and made it right into a dried lavender wreath. Including some drying lavender round your house will make it odor heavenly. I extremely suggest it.
After 2-4 weeks, test to see if the lavender is absolutely dried. You’ll be capable to inform as a result of the dried blooms will simply fall off the stem with little or no resistance.
As soon as the lavender has absolutely dried, you may shake or gently rub the lavender buds right into a tray or bowl. To retailer it, place the dried buds in a lidded glass jar in a cool, darkish place and repeat subsequent yr.
Which Type of Lavender is Greatest for Harvesting?
Harvesting lavender is an effective way to tidy up unruly crops and gives you an entire bunch of inspiration for tasks all year long. There’s a correct means and ultimate time to chop lavender flowers that’s finest for each the dried flowers and the crops.
That being stated, the easiest way to get a superb harvest begins with planting the proper of lavender.
English Vs. French Vs. Spanish Lavender
Lavender is often grouped into English lavender, French lavender, or Spanish Lavender, however the widespread names can grow to be fairly complicated as they will seek advice from numerous totally different lavender varieties.
One of the best ways to distinguish them comes from separating Lavandula angustifolia and L. x intermedia, crops which have delicate flowers and lengthy stems that soar above the woody evergreen plant, from Lavandula stoechas with its showy hat of butterfly-like bracts on a perennial shrub.
English Lavender is the widespread title for L. angustifolia, and a hybrid of L. angustifolia is L. x intermedia, which I’ve seen referred to as each English and French lavender.
In any case, this information is for harvesting L. angustifolia and L. x intermedia, that are the varieties most frequently cultivated for culinary, craft, and medicinal properties. That being stated, these harvesting strategies can work for any type of lavender.
Learn extra about rising and propagating lavender on this article: The Important Information to Rising Lavender.
The Greatest Varieties for Harvested Lavender
The cultivar of your lavender will even decide perfume, color, and longevity of the dried stems as properly. ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munstead’ English lavender varieties are famous by many to be the perfect for drying (L. angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ and L. angustifolia ‘Munstead’).
When searching for dried lavender choices, I actually love ‘Thumbelina’ for producing a bounty of small, deep purple flowers that maintain color rather well. I must also add that after visiting a ton of growers and farms, all of them appear to have developed cultivars that work finest for them.
Should you can, I extremely suggest visiting a lavender farm, asking some questions, and shopping for your backyard crops from them. They are going to actually have some gems that may carry out finest in your backyard.
Find out how to Use Dried Lavender
In case you might be questioning what to do together with your bounty of contemporary herbs, try these DIY tasks and recipes that includes this star of the backyard. There may be a lot you are able to do with this beautiful flower, from potpourri to culinary makes use of to creating salves and tinctures. There may be really one thing for everybody on this record.
Lavender Recipes
Lavender Crafts
Lavender Pores and skin Care
Extra Suggestions for Rising Lavender
A metropolis woman who discovered to backyard and it modified every little thing. Creator, artist, Grasp Gardener. Higher dwelling by way of crops.
