Is there a difference between lavender and lavender? The popular names given to plants can help us identify them, but they also serve to confuse us, as is the case with these two types of aromatic plants.
And it is that when they are not in bloom it is very easy to think that they are the same, but when they bloom, we can see that the shape and color of their flowers are different.
Contents
How are lavender and lavender different?
Image – Wikimedia/Fernando Losada Rodríguez]// Lavender
Lavender
Genetically, these are two types of plants that are related, so much so that botanists have classified them within the same genus: Lavandula. But one thing happens: the word cantueso is commonly used to designate the stoecha lavenderand lavender to talk about other species, like Lavandula angustifolia That is tooth lavender.
In fact, when searching for information on either, files and images of two floors usually come out which, yes, look a lot alike, but have flowers distinct enough to be considered a different species. Moreover, it must also be said that while L. stoechas, i.e. lavender itself, is native to the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia; the other varieties of lavender are also found in North Africa and Arabia.
What is the habitat of lavender and lavender?
There are about 40 types of lavender. In Spain we have some that are native, like the Lavender canariensis, tooth lavender, Lavandula pedunculataThat is stoecha lavender. These are plants that they have evolved to adapt to places where there is usually little rain and where the drought also coincides with the hottest time of the yeari.e. summer. Also, it is important that you know that they grow in the open field, in full sun.
Indeed, if you have already looked for images of lavender fields, such as that of Brihuega (Spain) or those of Provence (France), you will have noticed that They are exposed to starlight throughout the daybecause they don’t have tall plants that give them shade.
Another detail to take into account if you plan to grow lavender or lavender is the soil: the Lavandula they need soil with a neutral or alkaline pH, and above all, it must drain water quickly. The roots of our protagonists do not tolerate waterlogging, so it would be a mistake to plant them in compact and heavy soils, with poor drainage.
When do they bloom?
Both lavender and lavender they produce their flowers in the spring. When temperatures begin to warm, they work hard to produce their flowers, coinciding with the spring awakening of insects, such as bees, butterflies or wasps.
Many of them remain in a dormant state during the winter, so when the cold weather is gone, they urgently need to feed on the pollen of flowers, like Lavandula.
What to do to make lavender and lavender bloom?
Besides putting them in a sunny spot, there are things we need to do to make them thrive. These These are drought tolerant plants.so if you don’t have much experience in maintaining certain pots or the garden, lavender and lavender are ideal to start gardening, as well as to have a beautiful terrace with little maintenance.
But for that, we must start from the principle that plants are living beings, and that, especially if we are going to have them in pots, they will be beings that will depend on us. So, although our protagonists are very easy to maintain, we don’t have to make the mistake of forgetting them.
And it is that if we want them to be beautiful, it is our duty to give them some care which, as you can see below, is very basic:
- Irrigation: both lavender and lavender are very resistant to long periods of drought as long as they are planted in the ground. But things change if they are in a pot, since in these conditions they have a very limited amount of soil and, moreover, if they are in a plastic container, it overheats, so the substrate loses more its moisture quickly. For this reason, we water once or twice a week, trying to keep the soil moist.
- Subscriber: if they are planted in the garden, there will be no need to pay for them. Now, if they are in pots, we recommend that you fertilize them with natural fertilizers, such as guano, for example, or the seaweed extract that you can buy here. It is important not to use fertilizers (i.e. chemical fertilizers) as they may cause harm to wildlife. It should be remembered that lavender and lavender flowers provide food for pollinating insects, so it is better to use natural products to care for them.
- Transplant: if we have lavenders and lavenders in pots, we will have to plant them in other slightly larger containers when the roots appear through the holes of these, that is, every 3 years. The time to do this is in the spring, before they bloom.
Did you know that lavender and lavender are so similar? Well, here’s another secret: in many places lavender and lavender are two words used to refer to the same type of plant. But, even so, there is no doubt that they are very pretty.