Hidcote Lavender̴Ì?gives you that 'old-fashion English garden look,' and is̴Ì?best known for̴Ì?the elegant, dark-purple flower spikes it produces - perfect for planting schemes.
About Lavender
The Lavender 'Hidcote,' is native to the British Isles, with deeply fragrant purple flowers that are perfect to attract bees and other pollinator species. It will grow to about 50cm, meaning you can either plant it alone or make it the ideal addition to your vegetable patch/ fruit trees.
You will find that the Hidcote is more compact than the general English Lavender, and the flower itself is a much darker colour. Being an evergreen, the green leaves and striking bold purple flower heads of this Lavender species will likely give you immense interest all year-round.
Key Features
Lavender 'Hidcote' does prefer to be placed in a full sun position, especially west or south facing. It is tolerant with poor or moderately fertile, well-drained and alkaline soil, as they are drought tolerant, and they do not like to be sat in very wet soil or to be majorly waterlogged. One way to avoid this is through planting on a soil ridge. The Hidcote is, however, tolerant of seaside weather.
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Growth height: Slow growing (10-20cm a year)
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Ideal height: 0.5m+ Small
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Soil Type: Normal
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Exposure: Coastal, Inland
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Aspect: Sun
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Evergreen foliage? Yes
Pruning & Care
The Lavender 'Hidcote' is very easy to look after, and the key to getting the best out of your plant, is pruning. Though you will need to carry out regular deadheading throughout growing season (to encourage flowers to produce), a thorough prune will need to be done as soon as any flowers start to disappear in August- we do recommend that you remove about 1/3 of the plant, as this will enable light to flow through into the heart of the plant, and which small, new shoots will then grow at least 5cm before the dormant season (in September).
How to plant Lavender
When should I plant Hidcote lavender hedging?
The best time to plant Lavender is during the spring season.
How far apart do you plant Hidcote Lavender plants?
If you're wanting a decent, bushy hedge, we recommend planting around 30-35cm apart. Hidcote will reach around 75cm wide, however, so you can plant them a bit further apart if necessary - i.e. 40cm apart.
How to plant Lavender 'Hidcote'
First, be sure to fork over the soil in the planting area and mix in plenty of grit if the soil is quite heavy.
Next, dig a hole that is slightly larger than the plant's root ball, and place the plant into the hole and fill back up, pressing down lightly to secure the Lavender properly.
Make sure you water well at the base of the plant, for the first year after planting. After this, it should look after itself fairly well.