PlantFiles: French Lavender (UK), Spanish Lavender (US)
Lavandula stoechas

I want to know if this plant can be transplanted easily or if it does not like to be moved once it is established.

I've had two attempts in growing the French/Spanish lavender (L. stoechas), once with a fully-grown plant, and once from seed. In my experience, It does not survive the humidity here in Miami. It is really sad to just watch a perfectly healthy bush die in less than two weeks. Its leaves browned suddenly, and it never recovered. The seedlings did a better job (maybe I have to include the "winter" factor, since the months of November through February are less humid) in surviving, however as soon as the humid months started (May) in their full force, same thing happened to the seedlings as well.

We have had lavender growing in our yard for at least fifteen years now. These plants are very tolerant of frost and drought. The blossoms have a wondrous architectural style and the bees love them. Superb plant!

I had planted spanish lavender back in February 2006 and it was doing very well and then all of a sudden it died, I don't know if I overwatered it we have our irrigation system running 3 times a day for about 15 minutes at a time since its very hot here in Arizona.

According to my nursery-lady, Linda Bastin, who grows an important collection of 125 different Lavendula, L. stoechas prefers acid soil. This in contrary to other Lavandula. Similar to all Lavandula they love a well drained sunny spot and are grown best in stony poor soil..their natural environment. In those poor conditions L. stoechas has a better chance to survive our winters (zone 8) where it is doubtfull hardy. Joan Head, who keeps an important Lavandula collection in England, has planted her most rare and most tender Lavandula on the ruins of old sheds and barns around her house for that reason. Linda told me that Lavandula stoechas 'Helmsdale', L. s. 'Marshwood', L. s. 'Willow Vale' en L. s. 'Avenue Bellevue' have shown more hardy to her and can withstand frosts and rain better.

Although generally known as French lavender, this plant is really native to Madeira, the Middle East, North Africa, from north-east Spain right along the Mediterranean to Turkey (this includes S France), Tenerife.

It is a compact lavender with stout purple flower heads topped by lavender-coloured sterile bracts.
It was possibly the first lavender to be used for oil, though it is little used for that purpose today.

A fine plant for the garden, hardy to about -5C, it has a long flowering period

After trying three different lavenders in my zone 7 garden this one has fared the best. It puts out a huge display of charming purple flowers in late March through May that bees absolutely love. It was my initial understanding that lavenders would not hold up to the intense humindity my climate offers but the mediterranean lavenders seem to thrive in it.

Blooms remind me of little butterflies. Very drought tolerant. Not as strongly scented as most lavenders.

Also called 'Mickey Mouse Lavender' because of the large pink flowers atop the flower heads.