Rosea Lavender Lavandula angustifolia ‘Rosea’

LATIN NAME: Lavandula angustifolia

COMMON NAME: Rosea Lavender

The Rosea lavender flushes the pink, tubular flowers along the slim grey wands, the whole plant standing in the soft, pretty look of the sunny border. The hardy, evergreen shrub carries the narrow, linear, grey-green leaves along the upright, woody stems, and the small, soft-pink, tubular flowers in the short, dense spikes, at the stem tops, through the early summer, one of the soft, fragrant sights of the sunny border, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, dry, brown nutlets. The nutlets have a very long record as the fine, pink lavenders of the old gardens, and the plant is a historic presence of the sunny border. It is a plant of the open, sunny, light, gritty, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The Rosea lavender is a historic subject of the plant science, and the pink flowers keep showing up in the work on the pink lavenders. The way the small, soft-pink, tubular flowers form in the short, dense spikes has been examined closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the pink lavenders, the narrow leaves and the members of the mint family. The nutlets and the upright habit have also made it a fine study shrub, and the Rosea lavender is a regular subject of the work on the pink flowers of the temperate world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The Rosea lavender is a soft, useful plant of the sunny border and the study collection. The narrow, linear, grey-green leaves along the upright, woody stems carry the soft look of the sunny border, one of the soft, fragrant sights of the sunny border, drawing the bees, and the nutlets have a very long record as the fine, pink lavenders of the old gardens, the soft, pink wands coming to the borders, the dried bunches and the steady practice of the old gardens, while the small, soft-pink, tubular flowers in the short, dense spikes, at the stem tops, open through the early summer, to be followed by the small, dry, brown nutlets. It is one of the fine choices for the sunny border, the mixed bed and the study collection, and it has been written about in the horticultural and the botanical papers for the pink flowers and the very long history. It is a soft, useful plant of the open, sunny, light, gritty, well-drained garden.

The Rosea seeds germinate slowly in a fine, gritty soil kept barely moist. The young plants are soft and woody, and they enjoy the light, gritty ground of the sunny border.

To grow the Rosea lavender from seed, sow the small, grey seeds thinly across the surface of the shallow flat of fine, gritty soil, water gently, then keep the flat in a bright, airy spot. The seedlings thread up within a few weeks, and they grow on slowly. With the sun and the light, gritty, well-drained ground, the pink flushes will open over the early summer.

High oil

Lavender angustifolia is one of the richest in essential oils, meaning more fragrance power both fresh and dried. And this 'Rosea' cultivar is the original, first true pink-flowered lavender! Fresh flowers can be crystalized and used in candies and cakes; dried flowers are used in potpourris and satchets; oils are used in creams and perfumes. And these are only some of the more common uses – imagination can create endless more!