I'm planting a lavender. I'm living in the Philippines, it's like 30°C (86°F) here and I'd like to know the temperature and the weather for lavender. It's currently raining here.
2 Answers
Lavender should do well in the Philippines. Do you have neighbors or have you seen gorgeous lavender patches?
Because the Philippines has such high humidity, lavender should be planted to have more room for the air to flow. Lavender is a Mediterranean shrub, likes the heat and can deal with a range of humidity levels.
The most important thing you need to provide is drainage. I would not plant lavender without making a 'raised bed' of soil. Don't plant lavender in compacted soils. Or rather soils that have not been double dug and beds prepared for drainage, air and in the Philippines you need a little trench at the base of any plant bed.
I'd also thin as well as head prune to allow for more ventilation of the leaves. When you have to water, only water in the morning. Can't do anything about the rain.
It depends on the variety of the Lavender plant. There are over 400 varieties which can be grouped in three main types:
English (Lavandula angustifolia): The classic with long spikes holding fragrant flowers. While some varieties better tolerate heat and others might bloom longer in cooler climates, most flower in late spring to early summer. Even after they’ve slowed in the blossom department what remains is a silvery mound of intensely fragrant leaves.
Non-English (French, Spanish, Sweet, Wooly, etc.): These bloom earlier in the season in warmer zones, often in very early spring. A diverse collection, the variation in fragrance, size, color, texture, and flower heads in this group make it a truly exciting panoply of plants.
English hybrids (Lavandula x intermedia): Known as the lavandins, varieties in this group come latest in the bloom cycle, starting just as the the English lavenders are finishing, and continuing to mid summer. Lavandins have long gray leaves, twice or more the size of L. angustifolias, and grow much larger and faster. Some are more adept at dealing with heat than their English parents.
You can check each suitable lavender plant for each hardiness zone on this website