Lavandula angustifolia
'Tucker's Early Purple'
ENGLISH LAVENDER
Family: Lamiaceae
Pronounced: lah-VAN-dew-lah an-gus-tih-FOE-lee-ah
Quick Jumps
Growing Guide
Rainy Side Notes
GROWING GUIDE
Origin:
Garden.
Plant Group:
Herbs.
Hardiness:
Sunset zones: 4-24.
USDA zones: 6-8.
Heat zones: 8-5.
Mature size:
Height: 24 inches (60 cm).
Width: 36 inches (85 cm).
Flowering period:
June to July and again in the fall if trimmed.
Flowering attributes:
Violet blue flowers on dense spikes.
Leaf attributes:
Linear, gray-green leaves.
Light:
Full sun.
Soil:
Well-drained, loose soil.
Feeding:
None to very light feeding.
Propagation Methods:
Softwood cuttings in summer.
Pruning Methods:
Prune after flowers fade, taking off the flower stem, to extend the blooming season. In spite of advice never to hard prune lavender, you can hard prune young plants; however, old, woody plants will not take well to radical pruning.
Rainy Side Notes
Named after lavender expert Professor A.O. Tucker of Delaware State University, the English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia 'Tucker's Early Purple' is a compact, erect plant. Although its flowers are similar, this cultivar, in my opinion, dances circles around L. 'Twickel Purple', which tends to have an untidy sprawling habit. Thomas DeBaggio developed and introduced 'Tucker's Early Purple' in 1993. Its parents may be 'Mitchum Grey' and 'Irene Doyle'.
It is one of the earliest of the English lavenders to flower, with exceptionally fragrant blossoms in mid June and again in the fall. This is one of my favorites because the dark flower buds and dark purple-blue flowers make this herb outstanding as a cut flower for the vase or as a dried flower.
Photographed at Cedarbrook Farm in Sequim, Washington.
A Pacific Northwest Plant of the Week (2012)
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton
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