So you have seen how beautiful lavender is outdoors and you want to know if it's something you can bring into your house. The quick answer is a definite yes, and you have come to the right place to learn how. In this article we will discuss how to grow indoor lavender.
Let's start by discussing the beautiful plant and the benefits of growing lavender indoors. Lavender originally came from Europe and is very well known for its pretty purple flowers and its great natural perfume smell.
Lavender dates back to ancient Egypt and was originally used as part of the mummification process. Later it was recorded to be used in Rome and Greece where it was later added to baths to provide a nice fragrance while bathing. They also believed that it helped with the spirit and mind.
Since then it has been associated with many other potential benefits such as helping you relax, helping with sleep, headaches, nausea, depression and many more.
So as you can see it provides many benefits above and beyond looking good and smelling good. And you can get all these benefits of growing lavender indoors.
Most commercial lavender is grown in the Province of France because of the mild winters and the sunny and warm summers.
However just because this is the best place for it to grow does not mean you still cant grow it in the comfort of your own Indoors.
When you grow something indoors you can control the climate and weather unlike when you plant something outdoors. Indoors you are not susceptible to a freeze over or a super hot day.
Indoors If its not getting enough sun in one window you can easily move it to another. If its too hot you can move it out of the window for a day until the weather cools back down.
Plus You see it everyday and when you see it everyday you don’t forget about it as much as you might when its outdoors.
Is Lavender Easy To Grow Indoors
Now that you know that you can grow indoors. I'm guessing your next question is lavender easy to grow indoors. Just because you can doesn't mean it's easy right?
Well luckily the answer to that is that yes. And it is easy if you follow a few simple steps.
Lavender can be grown at almost anytime of the year outdoors other than the hottest months. But since you are growing indoors we can start whenever we want.
There are a few ways to Start.
One way is to start with your lavender seeds – I get my favorite seeds here: but you can pick them up at a gardening store of your choice.
Start by taking your seeds and planting them about 1/4 inch into the potting soil. Make sure to use a light potting soil that allows for drainage. I recommend FoxFarm Ocean Forest Organic Potting.
Next add some water so just the top layer of the soil is wet. You don't want to soak the soil. Lavender does not like too much water. Over watering can be the death of your little lavender sprouts.
You will want to water them as mentioned above and check back in every day or two and make sure the soil is moist (not soaked) and re-water them again when the soil starts to dry out.
Be patient, it can take up to 14-21 days for germination. So don't give up on the seeds too soon.
You will want to make sure to not let the soil dry out for too long when first starting out with out water. This can cause the leaves to turn yellow and potentially die.
The second way is to grow them through cuttings. In our other post we go into depth on what to do with lavender cuttings to grow more lavender.
Next since we are growing them indoors in planters or containers you will want to put the container in a south, southwest facing window where it can get at minimum 3 hours of sunlight and they can also get the warmth of the sunlight. Speaking of planters….
Best Planters for Lavender
When growing indoors to put the odds in your favor of successful growth you will want to seek out the best planters for lavender growth.
Because not all lavender varieties (there are a lot by the way the English Variety is the most common) are hardy so growing them in planters and containers is a great way to help them mature.
And really any kind of planter or container will work as long as you use good potting soil and provide it with the right amount of water and sunshine.
How to Care for Lavender Plants in Pots
Some tips though when using a container are to add rocks or growstones to the bottom of the container to allow water to flow through the soil and provide you with a cushion if you over water.
The rocks at the bottom if over watered will provide some leeway. If overwatered the water will flow through the soil and into the rock area allowing the soil to dry up and not stay wet and rott the roots.
And this brings up another question. Can you grow lavender in a pot that does not have a hole at the bottom.
Can you Grow Lavender in a Mason Jar
Another resounding yes. You can grow Lavender in a mason jar or any other type of planter that doesn’t have a hole in the bottom for drainage.
However you need to be more careful with your watering than you would if you were using a container with a hole.
With a hole any excess water drains through if the container is designed correctly.
With a mason jar or any other container or planter with no drainaige hole it is even more important to add a layer at the bottom of the jar such as growstones or pebbles or rocks for “run off” like I mentioned above.
First you add the rocks – then add soil and moisten the soil. The beauty of growing lavender in a mason jar – besides the fact that it looks really really cool is that you can see the water as you are watering it absorb into the soil.
So when you see it get wet at least half way through you can stop watering – plant the seed and place in a south/southwest facing window.
If for some reason you do not have a window that gets adequate light you can always place the containers under a regular led light or a real grow light. This will advance the growing process.
So hopefully this has answered all the questions on your mind about growing indoor lavender.
So many benefits – it looks good – it smells great – its easy to take care of and easy to grow and lasts a very long time as it is evergreen. Oh and one more thing I almost forgot that I get asked a lot.
Does Lavender Stay Green All Year?
Yes – Yes it Does! (You probably figured that out above when I said evergreen) So not only do you get all that good stuff above. You also have a plant that you can keep and always looks good year round.
Now you are armed with all the info you need to get started on growing your own lavender at home from seed.
Quick summary
Pick a planter, pick some soil, get some seeds, plant the seeds, water seeds, place the container in a south / southwest windowsill where it gets at minimum of 3 hours of sun, watch the seeds grow and bloom, enjoy the beauty and smell and satisfaction that you grew this beautiful plant with your own two hands!
Do this all on your own or let us help you with our cool Lavender Mason Jar Grow Kit. The kit provides everything you need to start growing Lavender the day it arrives.
Thanks again for checking out our website and reading through the article – if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. We respond personally to all questions.
