Did My Lavender Die This Winter?

Did My Lavender Die This Winter?

Lavender is a beautiful and very beneficial herb.  The large flower heads and long stems are highly desired by all who see them.  But how do they do in cold winter climates?  Do they die in the snow?  What about the wind chill factor? Here are a few quick tips for wintering your lavender.

Depending on the variety of lavender you have, cold winters are good.  Take the English lavender Folgate for instance.   It is ideal for cold climates.  A thick layer of snow is just what it needs to produce large flower heads and high yielding oil production.

One problem with cold winters is the wind.  If there is not enough snow to insulate the lavender from the wind, the lavender could easily die. A simple solution to this problem is building or planting a wind-break.  A row of trees outlining your lavender field or a berm around it is all it needs to be protected from the deadly wind chill of winter.

Lavender is pretty hardy, unless you over water it.  Below is an English Buena Vista lavender that was not taken care of as it should have been.  It is two years old here.

 This lavender was not pruned back in the fall as it should have been.  Because of that, it has a lot of winter die-back that needs to be cut out.

Here is the same lavender after a gentle cut out.  You can get even more aggressive in your cutting out of winter die-back.

This is what the same lavender plant looks like just a few weeks later.  This particular variety of lavender will give you a continuous bloom, depending on your climate.  This is its first bloom of the season.

Remember, most lavender is hardy in zones 5-9.  That doesn't mean it won't die in these zones.  Don't over water, prune it back and protect it from winter winds and you will have a beautiful lavender plant for many years to come.

For more information about lavender and it's benefits visit us at Lavendoola.com.

Repel Bugs Safely Without DEET

Spring has come early this year, with the warm sunny days, gentle breezes, and swarms of bugs floating around.  Just this last week I received an email regarding lavender as a repellant.  This one was a little more unusual than emails I've received in the past:

"My friend and I will be in a cabin in Arizona for two weeks. I have read that lavender discourages scorpions. Any suggestions? "

Well lavender is a great repellant, which is funny because some people feel lavender is an aphrodisiac.  Happily, bugs . . . and scorpions don't agree.  In fact, one study found that lavender essential oil was comparable to DEET in its ability to repel ticks as well as mosquitoes. (Hyalomma marginatum)(Mkolo et al., 2007)

Although DEET is approved by the EPA, it is a known eye irritant and can cause rashes, soreness, or blistering when applied to the skin. Additionally, DEET has been linked to neurological problems; according to the EPA, at least 18 different cases of children suffering adverse neurological effects, as well as the deaths of two adults.  Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have found that DEET causes behavioral changes in rats.  That's not what I want on my skin, or on the skin of my loved ones.

So what else is there?  Well lavender of course, as well as catnip, lemongrass, citronella and many others herbs that are great alternatives to using repellants with DEET.   I don't like bugs of any kind, so when making our Lavendoola Herbal Insect Repellant, I pack it full of all-natural bug repelling herbs.

My daughters can attest to the strength of our Herbal Insect Repellant.  I gave both girls our Lavendoola Herbal Insect Repellant as well as our Herbal Bug Balm (which also gives you SPF 10) to pack for summer camp.  They were gone for a week in a heavily wooded area.  One used the repellants and the other didn't.

When the girls got home a week later, the one who didn't use any repellant was covered with 14 painful, red, irritated mosquito bites.  The other had only one small bite on the backside of her elbow.  When asked what happened, the badly bitten daughter said that she didn't remember where she had packed her repellants, so she didn't use any.  Her sister said the reason she got a bite on her elbow is that she didn't think to put any repellant there.

Another customer of ours was visiting Honduras when he got bit by a mosquito.  The mosquito was carrying the Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever virus, (related to the West Nile Virus and Yellow Fever) has symptoms of fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and if left untreated results in death.  Once he recovered, he ordered our Herbal Bug Balm and says that not only has he not been bitten again, but he also has not been getting sun burnt in the areas that he has applied the balm.  I was so happy to hear that it is strong enough for even tropical regions.

April showers bring May flowers, and a lot of bugs too.  With our early spring this year, we are glad that we have plenty of Lavendoola Herbal Insect Repellant and Herbal Bug Balm to keep the critters at bay, so we can enjoy this great weather outside.

 For more information visit Lavendoola.com.