How to Grow Spanish Lavender

Plant Spanish lavender in an area that gets full sun or at least six hours of bright sun each day. Select a location that has rocky or sandy loamy soil with good drainage.

Dig holes with a shovel at each planting site large enough to accommodate the pot the Spanish lavender is in. Place the pot in the hole once or twice as you dig until the whole pot sits in the hole with the lip even with the edge of the soil.

Space multiple plants 36 inches apart to allow air circulation around each plant. The lavender will fill in as it grows and matures, creating a connected series of plants.

Hold the Spanish lavender plant gently by the base of the stems and carefully wiggle the nursery pot off the roots. If the pot is thin plastic and you don't care about keeping it, cut the pot away with a pair of sharp scissors or shears.

Hold the lavender plant upright in the center of the planting hole so that it is the same level in the soil as it was in the pot. Fill in under the roots with soil until it can rest on its own in the planting hole. Push extra soil into the sides of the hole around the roots, and press it down firmly with your palms.

Water each plant after planting. If the soil settles and sinks around the roots, add a little more soil until it is level under each plant.

Water once a week for the first year or when the top 1 inch of soil feels dry. This will encourage a strong deep root system. After the first growing season, begin watering in the spring, soaking each plant when the top 2 inches of soil feel dry. Spanish lavender is drought tolerant and can withstand periods without water.

Spread a 2-inch-thick layer of pea gravel or crushed rock as a mulch layer around each plant. Hold the mulch layer back 1 inch from the base of each plant.

Cut back Spanish lavender plants after the blooming period. Cut each plant back by one-third of its total mass, using a pair of sharp shears, to create a tidy mound-shape plant.