Re: lavender Q

At 03:49 PM 4/4/2005, Nan Sterman wrote:
Which species/variety of lavender has green leaves rather than gray/green or silver?
Nan
Hi Nan -

Lavandula dentata has a green leafed form, which tends to be a little less vigorous than the gray-green and 'candicans' forms. It also tends to be a bit more stiffly upright (i.e. not flopping and spreading to make a wide plant over time), at least the forms I've seen. Some of these green forms tend to have unusual inflorescences, sometimes with a gap or two between whorls of flowers. I even know of a plant whose inflorescence if very loosely arranged - quite unlike others (I'm working to propagate it and trial it further).

Lavandula viridis and other Canary Island types are green, as mentioned. L. viridis hybridizes with the closely related L. stoechas, producing a large number of hybrid forms with various colored flowers. These have become very popular of late. Some have green foliage, though many are gray-green. The foliage tends to be softer and slightly sticky in comparison to the true L. stoechas, though they are typically sold as L. stoechas (there is, as yet, no latin name given to this hybrid). This is confusing to gardeners because these plants are not as drought/heat tolerant as L. stoechas. But they grow well here along our cooler coastal areas.

Lavandual x heterophylla is often considered to have green foliage (it is slight gray-green perhaps, but certainly greener than most lavenders). This plant can get very large (4ft or more tall, and up to 6ft wide!) and flower continually. It is a sterile hybrid of L. denata x L. latifolia, which is even suggested by the occasional dentate (l. dentata) basal leaf and the narrow, tapering inflorescence (L. latifolia) topped with tiny little bracts (L. dentata).

Some forms of L. x intermedia (L. angustifolia x L. latifolia) have very green foliage, especially in comparison to gray leafed lavenders.

Regards,
Seán O.

h o r t u l u s _ a p t u s - - - - - 'a garden suited to its purpose'
Seán A. O'Hara --- sean(at)gimcw.org --- www.hortulusaptus.com
1034A Virginia Street, Berkeley, California 94710-1853, U.S.A.

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