Common Name: Spanish lavender
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Lamiaceae
Zone: 7 to 10
Height: 0.50 to 0.75 feet
Spread: 0.75 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: April to June
Bloom Description: Dark mauve with pink bracts
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Annual
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Fragrant, Evergreen
Attracts: Butterflies
Tolerate: Drought, Shallow-Rocky Soil
Culture
Best grown in evenly moist to dry, well-draining soils in full sun. Tolerant of shallow, rocky soils and drought. Prune as needed after flowering to maintain a dense, well-branched structure. Hardy in Zones 7-10.
'Bandera Deep Rose' can be grown from seed and will flower in its first year.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Lavandula stoechas, commonly called Spanish lavender, butterfly lavender, or French lavender, is an evergreen sub-shrub native to dry, rocky slopes along the the Mediterranean coast. Mature plants will reach 1-3' tall with a similar spread. The aromatic, linear foliage will reach around 0.5-1.5" long and has revolute margins (curved downward). Small, purple flowers are held in 0.75" long spikes atop terminal, leafless, 4-12" long stalks from spring into early summer. The spikes are topped with upright, showy, purple bracts reaching 0.5-1" long. The flowers are attractive to butterflies and other insect pollinators.
Genus name comes from the Latin word lavo meaning I wash in reference to a former use of the plant as an aromatic wash.
The specific epithet stoechas refers to the Stoechades, a group of islands off the southern coast of France near Marseilles.
The common names Spanish lavender and French lavender refer to part of the native range of this species. The common name butterfly lavender may refer to the showy bracts on the top of the flowering spikes.
'Bandera Deep Rose' features spikes of dark mauve flowers topped with upright, showy, pink bracts. Mature plants will reach up to 9" tall with a 12" spread.
Problems
No major pest or disease problems. May be short-lived in the landscape. Deer and rabbits tend to avoid this plant. This plant has escaped cultivation and is considered invasive in parts of southern Australia. Check local laws and recommendations before adding this plant to your landscape.
Uses
Rock garden, Mediterranean garden, seaside garden, herb garden, slopes. Suitable for use in containers and for xeriscaping.
The compact size of 'Bandera Deep Rose' compared to the species makes it suitable for use in smaller containers and as a path edger. Because it flowers in its first year if grown from seed it can also be used as an annual.