Title: <no subject>
>> Joe Seals wrote:
>> Could any of you great folks (preferably in the
>> U.S.)

>> david feix wrote:
>> Lavandula canariensis-synonym for L. multifida?-San
>> Marcos Growers


> MOira wrote:
> Couldn't let this pass without comment. I have tried this at least twice
> over the years, once in the open garden in a nearly-frost-free area and
> once potted beneath a sheltering roof and both times it died in a couple
> of degrees C of frost. I might have still persisted with it, but was
> disgusted to find it had no scent. It does in truth show a good blue
> colour, but the spike is too slender for that to make a great deal of
> impact. I am sure most people would get better mileage out of one of the
> blue-flowered salvias.

Joe, David,

Lavandula canariensis IS NOT a synonym for L. multifida!  They are entirely
different species.  Unfortunately, these two species are often mixed up in
the U.S. trade, which leads to a great deal of confusion.

Lavandula canariensis is native to all the Canary islands.  It has finely
divided, fernlike, glandular--but not hairy--lime-green leaves with long
stems topped with slender, branched inflorescences of bright blue flowers
arranged around the stem in straight, vertical rows.

Lavandula multifida is native to North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and
Italy but NOT to the Canary Islands.  It has gray-green, hairy foliage that
is not as finely divided as that of L. canariensis and a branched
inflorescence with buds and blue-violet flowers in a spiral arrangement.  
The form often sold as Lavandula 'California' was presumably a selected cultivar of this species, but it now appears to be grown from seed, with consequent variation, so this name should be dropped.

I agree with Moira that L. canariensis flowers are not particularly showy,
but I find the fine foliage texture and its yellow-green color very useful
in a sunny landscape.  The flowers on L. multifida are a bit larger and
showier, and I like its gray-green foliage as good foil for other greens
with more weight.  Both species require occasional deadheading and removal
of dead flower stems to keep them neat.

John MacGregor
South Pasadena, CA 91030
USDA zone 9   Sunset zones 21/23
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