English Lavender Hedge (Lavandula angustifolia Hidcote)

English Lavender Plant Description

English Lavender, or Lavandula angustifolia, is a highly valued evergreen shrub known for its fragrant, violet-blue flowers and silvery-grey foliage. This plant is an excellent choice for hedging, providing both aesthetic appeal and practical benefits. Blooming from late spring to early summer, English Lavender offers a vibrant display of flowers, which are not only visually striking but also attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Its aromatic properties make it a popular choice in gardens for creating calming sensory environments.

Well-suited to a variety of garden settings, English Lavender thrives in full sunlight and well-drained soils. It is a drought-tolerant plant once established, making it ideal for low-maintenance hedging. In addition to its ornamental value, it can serve as a functional boundary, offering structure and definition to garden spaces.

Lavender is also known for its resilience, withstanding cold UK winters while retaining its foliage. Regular pruning, typically after flowering in late summer, helps maintain its shape and encourages dense growth, ensuring the hedge remains compact and tidy. English Lavender is a versatile, hardy plant that brings beauty, fragrance, and a touch of formality to any landscape.

Pruning Advice

Lavender is relatively simple to cultivate, but proper pruning is crucial for its longevity. Pruning should be carried out as soon as the flowers begin to fade in August. It is advisable to perform a hard pruning, removing up to one third of the plant, not merely the flower spikes. This approach allows light to penetrate into the centre of the plant, promoting the growth of small shoots that will extend approximately 5 cm before the plants enter dormancy in September.

Such pruning practices ensure that the plants maintain a lush, tidy appearance throughout the winter. As spring arrives, the new shoots will resume growth, resulting in a dense shrub and a healthy production of flowers as temperatures rise.

Alternatively, you may choose to leave the spent flower heads on the plants until spring. During winter, when food sources for birds are limited, the seeds will attract birds, particularly goldfinches. However, this method may eventually lead to the plants becoming woody and straggly. Therefore, it is generally advisable to replace a lavender hedge after approximately 20 years, although this is not always necessary.

Further Information

Our recommended planting densities for each size and root type are listed in the product grid. These should be used as a guide when considering the time you are willing to wait for your hedge to achieve its full appearance. As a general indication, bare root plants can be spaced at 3 to 7 per metre, while cell-grown plants can be spaced between 4 and 6 per metre. For higher densities, consider planting in a double staggered row or a zig-zag pattern.

Delivery & Returns

Free delivery is available on most orders (except Premium Products) providing they meet the minimum spend criteria for the size of box or pallet. Pallet deliveries and large box deliveries for tall plants are indicated by icons on the product table listings. Delivery costs and minimum order details for each packaging type are as follows:

* Standard Sized Boxes (Bare root up to 1.2m tall & pots up to 7.5L) | Free UK Mainland Delivery for orders over £100 | or £7.99 charge.

* Tall Sized Boxes (Bare roots 1.2m & over) | Free UK Mainland Delivery for orders over £100 | or £14.99 charge.

* Pallets (Root balls, large pots 10L+, trees etc | Free UK Mainland Delivery for orders over £350 | or £60 charge.

* Pleached Trees (Specialist Delivery) | Free UK Mainland Delivery for orders over £1500 | or £450 charge.