Lavender Varieties and Blooming Seasons

Depending on where you live, you can enjoy Lavender blooms almost all year in your garden. Why? Because not all Lavenders bloom at the same time, and some bloom continuously, producing flowers all spring and summer. Planting one of each in your garden will reward you with heavenly fragrance and attractive flower spikes from spring until late summer.

Lavender Blooming Seasons

There are 3 main types of Lavenders with different blooming seasons: Lavandula stoechas (Spanish Lavender), Lavandula angustifolia (English Lavender), and Lavandula x intermedia (Lavandin). Some are early bloomers, with their magnificent blooms appearing in early spring. Others are late bloomers with blooms opening up in midsummer.

• Lavandula stoechas, also called Spanish Lavender or Butterfly Lavender is recognizable by the conspicuous sterile bracts resembling extravagant ears, on top of the short dense inflorescence. Grown for its silvery aromatic leaves, its very distinctive flowers, however, steal the show with their “ears” sprouting from each flower head. Flowering typically occurs as early as May (in areas with mild summers and winters), with another flush of blooms in June followed by another flush of color in late summer or fall.
• Lavandula angustifolia, also called True Lavender or Common Lavender has long been cultivated for its high-quality lavender oil. Cultivars of this species tend to be compact in habit and have grayish-green narrow leaves and relatively short compact flower spikes. Flowering typically occurs in June or July and tends to last 3-4 weeks.​
• Lavandula x intermedia, also called Lavandin, is a hybrid cross between Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia. Cultivars are taller than L. angustifolia, with mounds of gray foliage and long loose spikes. Flowering typically occurs in July or August (generally 1 month later than English Lavender) and tends to last until late summer.

All this might be confusing. To assist you in getting some clarity on the Lavender blooming seasons, you will find below a few useful guides indicating seasons and bloom frequencies of the most popular Lavender cultivars.