Primavera Spanish Lavender Handles Heat and Drought

Virtues: Primavera is a new cultivar of Spanish lavender that stands apart because of its great heat tolerance. Other Spanish lavenders may take a break from flowering in summer's hot weather, but Primavera continues to bloom even in the Deep South. Spanish lavender's copious unique flowers are favorites of bees and butterflies. The plant has been observed to be resistant to deer and rabbits (although this can always vary depending on locale and the animals' hunger level).

Common name: Primavera Spanish lavender

Botanical name: Lavendula stoechas 'Anouk Deluxe 1225' or Primavera

Exposure: Full to part sun

Flowers: This lavender blooms in spring and summer in most regions where it's hardy (to USDA Zone 7). In the Deep South, it can also bloom in winter. The spikes of small flowers are a dark purple color and topped with large reddish-purple flags.

Foliage: The aromatic foliage is a dusty gray-green color and long and narrow in shape. Evergreen.

Habit: Primavera lavender is a perennial plant that grows 16 to 18 inches tall and 14 to 16 inches wide, with an upright shape.

Origin: Lavandula stoechas is native to the Mediterranean. The cultivar Primavera was introduced by Darwin Perennials in 2021.

How to grow it: Site in full sun or part sun, in well-drained soil. Shearing the plant by half after a flush of bloom will encourage more flowering. Spanish lavender is drought tolerant once established and it easily handles heat. It grows well in containers and raised beds, good options where the garden soil doesn't offer sharp drainage. USDA Zones 7–9.

Image courtesy of Darwin Perennials