Lavender, with its distinctive fragrance and soothing purple blossoms, is a highly sought-after plant for gardens, culinary use, and aromatherapy. While many gardeners opt to purchase established plants, cultivating this fragrant herb from seed offers an economical pathway to a large collection. Growing lavender from seed requires patience and a specific understanding of its needs, starting with the careful selection of the right seed from a reliable source.
Choosing the Right Lavender Variety
The initial step in successful lavender cultivation involves understanding the different species, as only a few are reliably grown from seed. The most common varieties available as seed are Lavandula angustifolia (English Lavender) and Lavandula stoechas (Spanish Lavender). English Lavender is prized for its sweet scent and low camphor content, making it ideal for cooking and oil extraction. It is also the most cold-hardy species, thriving in cooler climates down to USDA Hardiness Zone 5.
Spanish Lavender features a unique, pineapple-shaped bloom topped with prominent bracts, giving it an ornamental appearance. This variety prefers warmer, sunnier conditions and is better suited for regions with mild winters, as it dislikes heavy frost. Its aroma is pungent and camphor-like, making it less suitable for culinary use but excellent for potpourri. Lavandin hybrids, such as ‘Grosso’ (L. x intermedia), are typically sterile and must be propagated from cuttings, meaning their seeds will not produce plants true to the parent variety.
Identifying Reputable Seed Sources
Securing high-quality seeds requires looking beyond general retailers toward specialized vendors dedicated to herbs and flowers. These specialty seed companies are the most reliable source for lavender seeds. They often offer a broader selection of specific cultivars, such as ‘Munstead’ or ‘Hidcote’, and maintain stricter quality control standards than large distributors. Some commercial suppliers, like Jelitto or GeoSeeds, cater to professional growers and frequently test their seed lots for germination rates, a practice that benefits the home gardener.
Local nurseries and independent garden centers are also excellent sources because their stock is often curated for success within the local climate. Purchasing from a local business provides an opportunity to receive expert advice tailored to your region’s microclimate and soil conditions. While large online marketplaces and big-box stores offer convenience, the quality and freshness of their seed stock can be inconsistent. When shopping online, look for vendors who mention viability testing or who specialize in the Lavandula genus to mitigate the risk of purchasing non-viable seeds.
Understanding Seed Quality and Viability
The success of growing lavender from seed is heavily dependent on the quality and freshness of the seed itself. Lavender seeds possess a natural dormancy that must be broken to achieve a reliable germination rate. This is why a period of cold stratification is often necessary, which involves mimicking a natural winter by keeping the seeds cool and moist for three to six weeks.
The expected germination rate for lavender is naturally low, often ranging from 20 to 50 percent, even with proper stratification. Buying fresh seed is important because viability plummets in older stock. Some specialty companies offer “primed” seeds, which are pre-treated to bypass the cold stratification requirement and speed up germination. Look for packaging that includes a recent test date or a specified germination percentage, as this transparency indicates a reputable supplier committed to quality.