Lovely Lavenders

Seasonal gardening tasks and care tips for fruit trees, roses, vegetables, flowers, and lavenders.

Fruit Trees

• Paint trunks of young fruit trees with Tree Trunk White to prevent sunburn, which can cause cracks and attract borer insects—a common cause of death in young apple trees.

Pest Control

• Control earwigs with Sluggo Plus, which includes spinosad (a natural, bacteria-based ingredient) added to the original iron phosphate formula.

Roses

• Spray roses every two weeks with Neem oil to prevent black spot and mildew on leaves.

Vegetable Garden

• Finish planting the summer vegetable garden by sowing seeds of early corn and beans directly into the soil.
• Set out plants of tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons, squash, cucumbers, and basil.

Flowers

• Plant zinnias, cosmos, impatiens, and begonias for colorful summer blooms.

Lavenders

Lavenders are sun-loving ornamental herbs native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean, thriving in hot weather and well-suited for California gardens. Their aromatic gray or gray-green foliage contrasts beautifully with lavender or purple flowers, making them popular for dried or fresh bouquets, potpourri, lavender wands, oils, and perfumes. Most varieties dry well and attract bees and butterflies, serving as excellent landscape plants in perennial gardens or alongside other Mediterranean plants like rockrose, sunrose, catmint, rosemary, and germander.

Types of Lavender

• English Lavender: Best known for its fragrant flowers, used in perfumes, potpourri, soaps, and aromatherapy. The entire plant is fragrant and grows into an attractive 3–4 foot shrub. Cultivars include white, pink, blue (‘Munstead’), and dark purple (‘Hidcote’), making them ideal for small flower beds and containers (about 18 inches tall).
• Lavandins: Hybrids of English lavender and spike lavender, created by French growers. These larger plants produce more oil and dominate the global lavender oil industry. Their long stems make them ideal for lavender wands. Notable varieties include ‘Provence’, ‘Grosso’, and ‘Fred Boutin’.
• Spanish Lavenders: Early bloomers with distinctive "rabbit’s ears" petals above dark purple spikes. They form small evergreen shrubs about 30 inches tall and grow well in containers. Deadhead faded flowers to encourage new blooms.
• French Lavenders: Evergreen shrubs reaching 30 inches tall and up to 6 feet wide. They produce condensed spikes of purple flowers that bloom for months. Leaves are indented and may be green or gray, depending on the variety. Hardy to about 20°F.

Care Instructions

• Provide lavenders with full sun exposure to promote flowering.
• Ensure well-drained soil; lavenders dislike wet conditions, especially in winter.
• Established plants require minimal water in summer.
• No fertilizing is needed for lavenders planted in the ground, but container plants benefit from a light feeding in spring.
• Suitable for both pots and landscape planting.