How to Grow BIG Lavender Like a Pro: Complete Growing Guide

I love growing beautiful lavender in my garden that smells intoxicating and attracts tons of pollinators!

Many of you have caught a glimpse of my big lavender plants in MIgardener YouTube videos. You all want to know how I get a lavender plant to grow that huge and beautiful! 

So, I am sharing my pro tips to maximize your lavender's growth from grade C to grade A+! Don’t wait another year to learn how to grow lavender so you can have it to cut and enjoy.

Importance of Pollination

Flowers are beneficial for more than just the beauty and whimsy they add to a space. They attract pollinators that are essential to all gardens and orchards!

If you want to plant more flowers in your landscaping, grow a pollinator garden, or just want more flowers in your vegetable garden, you will enjoy these articles on growing marigolds from seed, how to grow dahlias, how to grow asters, how to forage and grow Jerusalem artichokes, and how to grow herbs.

Types of Lavender

If you want big, fragrant lavender plants with lots of blossoms, the first thing you need to do is plant the right type of lavender. If the genetics don’t justify a larger, bushier plant, you can do everything right, and you still won’t get a large, full-looking lavender plant.

Even with plants of the same age, the different varieties will have a dramatically different appearance. (Watch the video above to see a side-by-side comparison of varieties.) Munstead Lavender is a larger, very bushy variety, not as compact as Vera Lavender or common English lavender, so plant Munstead Lavender if you want size and fullness. 

How to Plant Lavender 

Lavender seeds require exposure to cold temperatures in order to germinate. When planting lavender from seed, begin cold stratification 2 to 3 weeks before starting the seeds indoors.

1. Planting Location - Depending on the variety, lavender can be a perennial in zones 5-11, so plant your lavender seedlings in a permanent location that receives full sun. Ideally, you should plant lavender where it will not be watered along with the rest of your garden, because it will not do well if it receives the same amount of water as other types of plants.

2. Soil Requirements - The soil type is super important when planting lavender! It requires a fertile yet very well-draining soil. Clay soil holds onto too much moisture and doesn’t have enough aeration in the soil for lavender. Very sandy soil will dry out too much, and the plant will suffer from dehydration. I plant lavender in pure, finished compost.

3. Planting Depth - Plant seedlings at the original soil level.

4. Plant Spacing - Space lavender 2 to 3 feet apart to allow for growth and good air flow.

5. Water - Water well at the time of planting. 

Best Watering Strategy

Here in Michigan, I do not water my lavender except twice a year when fertilizing! I know, this seems crazy because everything else in the garden loves water, especially in mid-summer.

Lavender is an arid-loving plant that grows in the Mediterranean regions of the world, where there is lots of fertile yet sandy, well-draining soil. This area has periods during the growing season when it might go a month or two without rain.

I rely on the rain to water my lavender. Less water actually encourages a healthier overall plant! Many gardeners overwater their lavender, leading to root rot, center rot, mold, and disease. An overwatered lavender plant will be stressed, may look spindly and may have many dead patches and fewer flowers.

How to Grow Lavender

Another thing you can do to grow a huge lavender plant is to fertilize. Just like the fertilization of fruit trees, the more you feed your plant, the healthier and bigger it should be. 

But when you fertilize and how you fertilize does make a huge difference! I use the trench fertilizing method when fertilizing lavender: I pull back the foliage, dig a small trench about an inch deep around the base of the plant, then sprinkle the fertilizer in the trench, scratch it in and water it well.

I recommend fertilizing lavender twice a year. For a large plant like the one you see in the video, I use ¼ cup of Trifecta+ at each feeding.

Fertilize the first time early in the spring. I use Trifecta+ on every plant in our garden; it doesn’t matter if it's a flower, a vegetable, or a fruit tree. Whatever you choose to use as your spring fertilizer, make sure it has lots of nitrogen to get the plant out of dormancy and growing very fast.

I follow up with a second application of Trifecta+ fertilizer when the plant is getting ready for winter, about a month or two before the first frost. This time, the focus is on feeding the plant potassium to help with winter hardiness. 

Pro-Tip: I don’t fertilize mid-season with a bloom booster or anything like that. I just don’t find it necessary when following this simple twice-a-year fertilization schedule using a high-quality fertilizer.

Pruning Lavender

Another trick to growing huge lavender is pruning! Now, you might think that is counterproductive to getting a larger plant, but the right pruning will increase the amount of flowers and overall plant health.

Lavender is a woody bush that only flowers on first-year growth. All of the growth comes from the center of the plant, but if it gets too long and lanky, it will have a hard time generating energy. Plus, the old growth will die and begin to rot, potentially leading to powdery mildew or center rot.

So, I recommend pruning lavender each fall after the flowers are done. Prune off about ⅓ of the plant back towards the center to encourage new growth. Make sure you remove dead foliage at this time. 

Harvesting

I really hope that you will cut some lavender to enjoy its beauty and fragrance indoors! Harvesting lavender is very easy; simply use sharp pruning shears to cut the stems of flowers that have begun to open. You can tie them into bundles and hang them upside down for about 2 weeks if you want to dry them.