How Long Do Lavender Seeds Take to Germinate? Detailed Guide to Planting Methods, Benefits and Effects

Lavender generally blooms from June to August. It is an important aromatic economic plant; the plant stays evergreen year-round and carries a fragrant scent, with high ornamental and economic value, and many farmers rush to grow it. So, how long do lavender seeds take to germinate? How do you plant it? What benefits and effects does it have?

How long do lavender seeds take to germinate?

Lavender seeds have a low germination rate. If the seeds are fresh and treated before sowing, they can germinate in 7--14 days. If the seeds are not fresh and have not been treated, it is hard to say; perhaps they will germinate only after a month, perhaps longer, perhaps not at all. Before sowing or soaking the seeds, you can first rub the seed coat with a towel to remove the oils on it.

If the seeds are fresh, you can sow them directly, or you can soak them first in water of thirty to forty degrees, that is, water that does not burn your finger, for no more than 24 hours. Water the soil thoroughly once, then place the seeds on the soil surface, press lightly with your finger, and cover with a relatively light medium, about one centimeter, that is, 1--2 times the volume of the seeds. Then cover with a layer of film, poke a few holes for ventilation, and place in a sunny spot, keeping the soil moist at all times. After the seedlings emerge, remove the film and give them plenty of sun.

After soaking the seeds, you can also choose to pre-sprout them first, then plant them. Find a flat container, such as a plate, lay out a paper towel, a cotton pad, or a small towel, moisten it with water spray, then place the soaked seeds on it, cover with another layer of paper towel, spray it moist, put it in a plastic bag, poke a few holes for ventilation, and place it in a sunny, warm spot. Open the bag for about an hour each day for ventilation, and observe the seeds at all times. When you see them turn white, plant them in the soil immediately; the white part is the root, not the sprout, so do not plant them upside down. First let the seedlings recover in a shaded place, then gradually expose them to the sun.

How do you plant lavender?

Lavender cannot tolerate heat and humidity; if waterlogged for a long time, the roots rot and it dies. When planting outdoors, be careful not to let rain fall directly on the plants. After May, it needs to be moved to a place without direct sunlight, and ventilation should be increased to lower the ambient temperature and keep it cool, so that it can safely get through the hot summer. Pay attention to sunlight, water, temperature and patience.

1. Soil: suitable for slightly alkaline or neutral sandy soil. Special attention must be paid to choosing a well-drained medium; you can use 1/3 perlite, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 peat moss mixed together. If cultivating in open ground, pay attention to soil drainage, and you can pile the soil up into raised beds before planting.

2. Watering: lavender does not like water standing around its roots. After one thorough watering, you should water again only when the soil is dry, to the degree that the surface growing medium is dry while the interior is moist, and the leaves are slightly wilted. Water in the morning, avoid sunlight, and do not splash water on the leaves and flowers, otherwise they rot easily and pests and diseases are encouraged. A continuously damp environment prevents the roots from getting enough air to breathe, leading to poor growth and even the sudden death of the whole plant; this is often where lavender cultivation fails.

3. Light: lavender is a full-sun plant and needs plenty of sunlight and a suitably moist environment; a full-sun environment is better, though it can also grow in half sun, only with sparser flowering. In summer, at least 50% of the sunlight should be blocked, and ventilation increased to lower the ambient temperature; in this way, although growth is weaker, the plant will not die. In winter, lavender grows well on flat ground and should be cultivated in full sun.

4. Temperature: lavender is semi-heat-tolerant, prefers coolness, and likes warm winters and cool summers. The suitable growing temperature is 15-25°C, and it can grow at 5-30°C. Limiting temperature: above 35°C, and if long kept above 38-40°C the top stems and leaves turn yellow and wither. In northern winters, when it stays below 0°C for a long time, it begins dormancy; during dormancy, mature plants can withstand low temperatures of -20 to -25°C.

5. Fertilizing: for fertilizer, bone meal can be placed in the potting soil as a base fertilizer (use once every three months); for small seedlings, Hyponex No. 2 (20--20--20) can be applied, and after the plants mature, apply a fertilizer higher in phosphorus such as Hyponex No. 3 (20-30-20). Apply dilute fertilizer.

6. Pruning: lavender flowers are richest in essential oil, and when using it, the flowers or flower spikes are mainly used. To make harvesting easier, in the early stage of cultivation some small flower spikes may as well be leveled off entirely with large shears, so that the newly grown flower spikes are uniform in height, which helps with harvesting in one go. Some varieties can reach 90 cm in height, and this method is also used to keep the plant short and encourage more branching and flowering, increasing the harvest. After flowering ends, pruning must be carried out; the plant can be pruned to 2/3 of its original size, which makes the plant form more compact and benefits growth. Prune in a cool season such as spring or autumn; generally prune in spring, as pruning in autumn will affect cold hardiness. When pruning, be careful not to cut into the woody part, so as to avoid weakening or killing the plant.

7. Common diseases:

When annual sown seedlings or cuttings are affected, the plant first wilts, loses water, and the leaf color becomes dull, with the tips of the leaves and branches bending and drooping downward, most obviously at the bud stage. In mild cases it can recover at night; in severe cases it dies within two or three days, with root rot and the stem vessels turning brown and glossy. In plants more than three years old, besides showing the same diseased state as seedlings, the wilting symptoms appear at the center or edge of the plant and gradually spread inward and outward, the branches wilt and die, and finally the whole plant dies. The degree of damage varies with plant age and variety. It generally starts in May, and peaks in July and August. French lavender is severely affected, while the former Soviet Union variety 2-417 is only mildly affected.

What benefits and effects does lavender have?

1. There are many kinds of lavender, with beautiful leaf shapes and flower colors, noble and elegant; the blue-purple flower spikes are slender and graceful, the plant form is low and compact, the branches and leaves are dense, the growth vigor is strong, and it tolerates pruning. It can be used in garden squares, carpet flower beds, private gardens, or arranged in flower borders, flower strips, flower clusters and other garden green spaces, all with a unique ornamental effect.

2. Lavender not only has special ornamental value, but also a scent-appreciation function and good ecological functions; when the plant is touched, it gives off a strong fragrance.

3. As the world's number one aromatic plant, lavender's essential oil has always been in short supply on the market. Because of its special fragrance, lavender is widely used in beauty care and daily cosmetics, and a series of products such as perfumes, skin care products, shampoos and aromatic baths have been developed; it is now widely used in psychotherapy and aromatic spa treatments.

4. The whole lavender plant can be used as medicine, and it is also a traditional medicine of Xinjiang Uyghur doctors; it is generally used to treat chest and abdominal distension and pain, colds with cough and asthma, dizziness and headache, palpitations and shortness of breath, and rheumatic joints. Lavender essential oil is widely used in the medical field, with effects such as calming, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood lipids, clearing the mind, antibacterial, healing and anti-inflammatory.

5. Lavender has significant biological activities such as antibacterial and antioxidant effects. It has not only achieved good antibacterial effects in the medical field, but now in food and agricultural antibacterial activity it has also attracted more and more researchers' attention. Linalool, the main component in lavender essential oil, can inhibit and kill microbial activity and can be used for fruit and vegetable preservation; it is non-toxic and leaves no residue in humans and mammals, and causes no pollution to grain or the environment, so it is bound to become a new type of green food preservative. Because of its fragrant smell, lavender essential oil also has a clear repellent effect on mosquitoes and insects.