Field journal

Choosing Lavender Varieties for a Cold Valley

Field notes from three seasons of side-by-side planting

Published March 14, 2024 · Reading time about 7 minutes

Rows of lavender in bloom along a sloping field at dusk

Three winters ago I split a half-hectare slope into alternating rows: angustifolia on the upper stretch, x intermedia below it. Same calcareous ground, same exposure, same shallow cultivation in spring. The point was not to prove one variety better than the other, but to see how each one handled the frost pocket that forms along the lower fence line after a clear April night.

What I did not expect was how differently the two varieties read the same weather. Angustifolia came out of winter with less dieback on the wood, but the first cut landed earlier and the window was tighter. The x intermedia rows held their shape longer, gave heavier bundles per row, and then paid for it with slower regrowth after a late cold snap in the second season.

What the three seasons actually showed

  • Winter dieback after late frosts stayed under a hand's width on angustifolia rows, while x intermedia lost whole outer branches in the coldest year.
  • First-cut dates drifted by nine to twelve days between the two varieties, which matters when you dry in bundles and need the barn free.
  • Dried bundle weight per row favored x intermedia in two of three seasons, but the gap narrowed sharply after a hard spring.
  • Wood ripening in October was visibly slower on the lower rows, where cold air settles and drainage channels need clearing every year.

The practical rule I settled on is simple: keep the frost-prone lower ground for angustifolia, and put x intermedia where air moves and the slope drains first. If you cannot split the plot, plant the hybrid on the warmer edge and accept that some years will test it.

Members from colder valleys pushed back on this, and their notes are worth reading before you commit a whole field. The discussion continues in the drying and pest threads, where the same rows show up again.

Next: drying bundles in a barn Also read: beetle pressure after a mild winter

About the author

Choosing Lavender Varieties for a Cold Valley

Grower and forum moderator

Marta runs a small lavender plot on a frost-prone calcareous slope and has kept alternating rows of angustifolia and x intermedia for three seasons. She writes the field notes behind this thread and moderates the variety, soil, and pruning sections of the forum.

Where her experience comes from

  • Three winters of tracking dieback on the same rows after late frosts, with notes on wood ripening in June and October.
  • First-cut dates and dried bundle weights recorded per row, so variety comparisons stay tied to the same soil and slope.
  • Hand weeding around crowns instead of deep tillage, plus drainage checks after snowmelt on south-facing plots.
  • Ongoing exchanges with members in colder and warmer zones about splitting a plot when spring weather is unpredictable.

Reach her directly

Address: Avenida Tambor de Tacuarí, Municipio de Posadas, Provincia de Misiones, 3300, Argentina
Phone: +54 9 11 2119 9619
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