

Best Lavenders for Drying, Cooking, and Essential Oil
We all need to stop and smell the Lavender sometimes! In addition to their ornamental use in waterwise landscapes, Lavender plants can be harvested to take advantage of their amazing aromatherapeutic properties. Lavender's innumerable uses range from culinary to crafts. Imagine making flavored vinegars, jellies, baked goods and beverages. Craft fragrant and relaxing sachets, potpourri, candles, soaps, and cleaning supplies. Or, create a spa-like experience at home with essential oils of Lavender. Dried Lavender flowers can be used for sachets, wreaths, and wands. The possibilies are endless!
Records show Lavender has been in use for over 2,500 years, for bathing, medicine, cleansing, and even romance charms. Interested in the story of lovely Lavender's use over time? Learn More: A History Of Lavender
Best Lavender Cultivars For Lavender Oil
These recommendations are based on the weight yield of flowers per plant, fragrance, and oil content of flowers.
Best English Lavender for Essential Oil:
Best French Hybrid Lavender for Essential Oil:
Best Lavender Cultivars For Drying
Best English Lavender for Dried Flowers:
Best French Hybrid Lavender for Dried Flowers:
Best Lavender Cultivars For Cooking
This is a very subjective recommendation as different cooks will have different opinions as to what tastes best. Many French hybrids have an overabundance of camphor-like scent to their oil which can be overpowering in a recipe. English varieties are typically favored for culinary use.
Best English Lavenders For Cooking:
Best French Hybrid cultivars:
- 'Gros Bleu' (the most like English, with a sweet, low-camphor component)


Resources For Growing Lavender
Curious about choosing English, French Hybrid, and Spanish Lavender varieties? Learn More: Lavender Bliss - Exploring Lavender Varieties
Excited to plant your own Lavender plants? Watch and learn from our chief horticulturist, David Salman, in our helpful guide to growing Lavender. Learn More: How To Grow & Care For Lavender Plants
by High Country Gardens

Best Lavender Varieties For Special Uses
In addition to their ornamental use in water-wise (xeric) landscapes, lavender plants are also used for other purposes such as lavender oil production, for dried flower products (such as sachets, wreaths, and wands) and as a culinary spice.
In this respect, not all varieties are the same.
Here are my recommendations for these different categories selected from the cultivars grown by High Country Gardens.
Best Lavender Cultivars For Lavender Oil Production

This is of primary concern to commercial growers who grow lavender flowers from which to distill lavender oil, based on the weight yield of flowers per plant and oil content of flowers.
Best English cultivars:
- 'Vera'
- 'Hidcote Superior'
- 'Gros Bleu'
- 'Grosso'
- 'Phenomenal'
Best French Hybrid cultivars:

Best Lavender Cultivars For Drying
Best English Lavender cultivars for Dried Flowers:
- 'Royal Velvet'
- 'Sharon Roberts'
- 'Miss Katherine'
- 'Gros Bleu'
- 'Grosso'
- 'Phenomenal'
Best French Hybrid Lavender for Dried Flowers:
Culinary Use

This is a very subjective recommendation as different cooks will have different opinions as to what tastes best. Many French hybrids have an overabundance of camphor-like scent to their oil which can be overpowering in a recipe.
- 'Vera' and most other English types.
- 'Gros Bleu' (most like English with a sweet, low camphor component)
Best English Lavenders For Cooking:
Best French Hybrid cultivars:
Long Blooming and Twice Blooming Lavender

These are cultivars (varieties) that provide an extended season of flowering in the water-wise (xeric) landscapes.
The English cultivars will bloom in early summer and again in September (when promptly deadheaded after the first summer flush of flowers).
- 'Sharon Roberts'
- 'Buena Vista'
- Pastor's Pride'
- 'Gros Bleu'
Twice Blooming English Lavender cultivars:
Longest Blooming French Hybrid Lavender cultivar:
Lavandula intermedia ‚Phenomenal‚ PP24193 (French Hybrid Lavender) is notable for its outstanding cold hardiness and tolerance to heat and high humidity. The plants grow ...
Learn MorePhenomenal Lavender Phenomenal Lavender Lavandula intermedia Phenomenal PP#24,193As low as $15.99 Sale $13.59Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula intermedia 'Phenomenal' PP24193 (French Hybrid Lavender) is notable for its outstanding cold hardiness and tolerance to heat and high humidity. The plants grow into a beautiful mounded shape, with purple flowers on tall stems in mid-summer.Enjoy lovely Lavender all season long! Our Lavender Collection includes carefully selected fragrant, hardy and long-blooming varieties. Enjoy Lavender blooms from late spring through...
Learn MoreLong Blooming Lavender Collection Long Blooming Lavender CollectionAs low as $66.99 Sale $60.29Per Collection of 5Enjoy lovely Lavender all season long! Our Lavender Collection includes carefully selected fragrant, hardy and long-blooming varieties. Enjoy Lavender blooms from late spring through fall with this carefully chosen combination of English and French hybrid Lavenders. Choice of 5 or 15 plants.Lavandula angustifolia ‚Wee One‚ (English Lavender) is a special dwarf variety that blooms with a wonderful display of short blue flower spikes only 10„ tall. It is...
Learn MoreWee One Dwarf English Lavender Wee One Dwarf English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia Wee OneAs low as $13.49 Sale $11.47Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula angustifolia 'Wee One' (English Lavender) is a special dwarf variety that blooms with a wonderful display of short blue flower spikes only 10" tall. It is the most compact Lavender cultivar in cultivation.Lavandula angustifolia ‚FlowerKisser® After Midnight‚ (English Lavender) has stunning, dark colored flower spikes with deep indigo-blue calyxes and large violet-purple f...
Learn MoreFlowerKisser® After Midnight English Lavender FlowerKisser® After Midnight English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia 'WWG002'As low as $15.49 Sale $13.17Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula angustifolia 'FlowerKisser® After Midnight' (English Lavender) has stunning, dark colored flower spikes with deep indigo-blue calyxes and large violet-purple flowers on a medium sized plant with gray-green foliage. 2019 Plant of the Year.Lavandula angustifolia ‚Royal Velvet‚ is very showy in bloom. It is covered with long stemmed, dark navy blue and lavender flower spikes. The 3 to 4-inch long flower spi...
Learn MoreRoyal Velvet English Lavender Royal Velvet English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia Royal VelvetAs low as $12.99 Sale $11.69Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula angustifolia 'Royal Velvet' is very showy in bloom. It is covered with long stemmed, dark navy blue and lavender flower spikes. The 3 to 4-inch long flower spikes, which are much longer than ‘Hidcote’, hold their dark color superbly as a dried flower.Lavandula angustifolia ‚Hidcote Superior‚ (English Lavender) is sweetly fragrant, uniformly compact and blooms with darkly colored lavender-blue flower spikes in late spr...
Learn MoreHidcote Superior English Lavender Hidcote Superior English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia Hidcote SuperiorAs low as $13.99 Sale $11.89Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote Superior' (English Lavender) is sweetly fragrant, uniformly compact and blooms with darkly colored lavender-blue flower spikes in late spring.Lavandula intermedia ‚Grosso‚ is a large growing French hybrid lavender with dark blue flower spikes in mid-summer. An impressive profuse bloomer ideal for drying or culi...
Learn MoreGrosso French Lavender Grosso French Lavender Lavandula intermedia 'Grosso'As low as $12.99 Sale $12.34Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula intermedia 'Grosso' is a large growing French hybrid lavender with dark blue flower spikes in mid-summer. An impressive profuse bloomer ideal for drying or culinary use.Lavandula angustifolia ‚Vera‚ (English Lavender) is an outstanding heirloom English Lavender known for its sweetly fragrant oil, dark lavender-blue flower spikes, and com...
Learn MoreVera English Lavender Vera English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia VeraAs low as $15.49 Sale $13.17Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula angustifolia 'Vera' (English Lavender) is an outstanding heirloom English Lavender known for its sweetly fragrant oil, dark lavender-blue flower spikes, and compact growth habit. Our selection of 'Vera' is also the most cold hardy variety of English Lavender.
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Grow Your Own Lavender Plants!
Lavandula intermedia ‚Phenomenal‚ PP24193 (French Hybrid Lavender) is notable for its outstanding cold hardiness and tolerance to heat and high humidity. The plants grow ...
Learn MorePhenomenal Lavender Phenomenal Lavender Lavandula intermedia Phenomenal PP#24,193As low as $15.99 Sale $13.59Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula intermedia 'Phenomenal' PP24193 (French Hybrid Lavender) is notable for its outstanding cold hardiness and tolerance to heat and high humidity. The plants grow into a beautiful mounded shape, with purple flowers on tall stems in mid-summer.Enjoy lovely Lavender all season long! Our Lavender Collection includes carefully selected fragrant, hardy and long-blooming varieties. Enjoy Lavender blooms from late spring through...
Learn MoreLong Blooming Lavender Collection Long Blooming Lavender CollectionAs low as $66.99 Sale $60.29Per Collection of 5Enjoy lovely Lavender all season long! Our Lavender Collection includes carefully selected fragrant, hardy and long-blooming varieties. Enjoy Lavender blooms from late spring through fall with this carefully chosen combination of English and French hybrid Lavenders. Choice of 5 or 15 plants.Lavandula angustifolia ‚Wee One‚ (English Lavender) is a special dwarf variety that blooms with a wonderful display of short blue flower spikes only 10„ tall. It is...
Learn MoreWee One Dwarf English Lavender Wee One Dwarf English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia Wee OneAs low as $13.49 Sale $11.47Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula angustifolia 'Wee One' (English Lavender) is a special dwarf variety that blooms with a wonderful display of short blue flower spikes only 10" tall. It is the most compact Lavender cultivar in cultivation.Lavandula angustifolia ‚FlowerKisser® After Midnight‚ (English Lavender) has stunning, dark colored flower spikes with deep indigo-blue calyxes and large violet-purple f...
Learn MoreFlowerKisser® After Midnight English Lavender FlowerKisser® After Midnight English Lavender Lavandula angustifolia 'WWG002'As low as $15.49 Sale $13.17Per Plant - 5" Deep PotLavandula angustifolia 'FlowerKisser® After Midnight' (English Lavender) has stunning, dark colored flower spikes with deep indigo-blue calyxes and large violet-purple flowers on a medium sized plant with gray-green foliage. 2019 Plant of the Year.