Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
Also called English lavender
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitIt dies of kindness and wet feet, not cold. Grit, sun, and cut it back hard after it flowers.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 10 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Every 90 days
- Humidity
- Low
- Hardiness
- Hardy — a cold winter RHS H5, to -15°C
- Size
- 0.75 m tall · 1.25 m across
- Lifecycle
- Shrub
- Origin
- The Mediterranean
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsToxic to pets
Affects dogs, cats, horses. Signs: nausea, vomiting (not in horses) and loss of appetite.
PeopleNothing recorded against it
Safe to eat: flowers, in small quantity as flavouring.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-07-31.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Metallic green-and-purple striped beetles sitting openly on the flower spikes from late summer, with grey slug-like grubs on the shoots below them.Rosemary beetle · pest
- The middle of the bush opens to bare grey wood while the outside still flowers — lavender will not shoot from old wood, so this is the last year a trim can save the shape.Bare woody base · disorder
- Blobs of white froth wedged where a flower stem leaves the shoot in early summer, with a pale green nymph inside each one.Froghopper (cuckoo spit) · pest