Hidcote Blue Lavender Plants

The Classic Deep Blue-Purple English Lavender Variety

Latin Name: Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'

Hidcote is the most popular and traditional, deep purple-blue English Lavender.  
The newer, very similar variety Havana has rave reviews, with many growers comparing it favourably to Hidcote.

A great low ornamental evergreen hedging plant. 

• Order now, pay later: we don't charge your card until before delivery
• When your order is ready: your mail order Lavenders are delivered by next working day courier (not the next working day after ordering!)
• Friendly support: if there is anything wrong with your plants when you inspect them, Contact Us within 5 working days

Delivery Prices

A typical delivery charge for potted shrubs like Lavender is £8 to £15, depending on the order size, if there are no larger plants like trees in the order as well.
Delivery is calculated automatically during checkout after you enter your delivery address.

Delivery Season

Lavender should be planted into warm soil.
If you plant it too early, before nighttime temperatures rise, the roots get shocked and set back, which is especially bad for little plants.

• The smallest lavenders, in P9 pots, are never shipped before May
• The larger pot sizes are usually shipped from the end of April, but cold weather can delay

Delivery Lead Time

• Typically 2 weeks if the plant is in stock, rather than available to order before its delivery season
• We process orders in batches to keep costs low
• We keep you notified by email

Choosing a pot size

• For window boxes and other containers, starting with the smallest, cheapest plants in P9 pots is great because it pots these little plants up while putting them to use ornamentally
  If you plant P9s out directly, the best time is late-May into June when the soil is warm and there is plenty of growing time before Winter. We don't recommend planting P9s out later: larger plants are stronger and will do better over their first Winter.
• For quick borders, hedges and edges, or single shrubs that provide instant impact, larger plants in 2 litre pots are ideal. You get more root and more flower in the first year, and they do not look lost planted as a hedge at one every 13" (33cm)
  You can safely plant these and larger plants out later in the growing season.
• For filling a spot in a mature flower border with a lavender muffin-mound, or for a truly instant lavender hedge, 5 Litre pots are the largest we grow. We reckon Lavender sold in pot sizes larger than 5L has a higher failure rate in its first Winter.

How many plants per metre? 

Spacing a Hidcote Lavender hedge: Like most evergreen hedging, the default spacing is 3 per metre, 33cm apart in a single row.

About Hidcote Lavender Plants

Hidcote blooms after the "other favourite" English Lavender variety, Munstead, which also has paler, more true Lavender coloured flowers.

Features

• Most Popular English Lavender
• Use: Low hedging / edging, basic topiary balls & shapes
• Flowers: Purple-blue spikes 
• Flowering: June/July to September
• Scent: Strong, lavender
• Leaves: Evergreen, aromatic. Silvery when mature
• Height x Spread: 60cm x 60cm
• Unappealing to deer, rodents
• Drought tolerant when established
• Culinary herb
• Dry flowers are very fragrant
• RHS Plants for Pollinators
• RHS Award of Garden Merit

Growing Hidcote Lavender

• Aspect: Full sun, South facing 
• Soil: Well drained is vital, poorly fertile is preferable
• Soil pH: Above 6.5 is best. Likes chalk
• Hardiness Rating: H5 (to -15C)
• Suitable for the coast and windy locations
• Ideal for large pots & containers 

In Your Garden Design

Hidcote is ideal as a low hedging or edging plant for all flower borders and kitchen gardens. The flowers are imperial, deep purple with a good balance between the height of foliage and flower spikes.

It is wonderfully bushy, but ever so slightly shorter and slower growing compared to other English lavender varieties like the paler Munstead. There isn't much in it, but Hidcote suits tight spaces and containers a bit better than more vigorous cultivars.

The pale, silvery, evergreen foliage reflects the light joyously throughout the year; the flowers are a big bonus. Left to itself, it forms a rounded muffin-shaped bush that adds structure to the front of a herbaceous bed, softening the boundary with a lawn or path, and it can be clipped beautifully into simple geometric shapes.

Hidcote's violet goes well with pink roses like Nathalie Nypels. In a potager, Hidcote makes a welcome change from Box when used as elegant, dark flowered edging for a bed full of herbs, which often have purple flowers themselves.

Planting Instructions & Aftercare

Read our guide on how to grow lavender, with a quick pruning video, and the best time to prune lavender.

Trivia Facts

Major Lawrence Waterbury Johnston’s mother bought Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire in 1907; beginning in 1910, Lawrence (1871-1958) went on to create perhaps the most famous Arts and Crafts garden.
Despite being known for Hidcote, his passion was Serre de la Madone, his larger, relatively private garden in Menton, France, which was not continued after his death, contrary to his wishes. Hidcote lavender was probably selected in France.
Major Lawrence bred and selected his own plants throughout, also introducing a Penstemon 'Hidcote Pink' and a Hypericum 'Hidcote Gold'. 

Lavender FAQs

• What's the difference between English, Dutch, and French "Butterfly" Lavenders?
• Can I grow Lavender in the Shade?
• Which Lavender variety is best for cooking?
• Harvesting Lavender Flowers for Oil or For Drying
• Potted Lavender 8:8:8 Watering Rule - More of a Guideline, really

Contact Us

• For general enquiries, use our Contact Us form
• If there is any issue with an order you've placed, or for a quote for a large order, our Sales & Support line is 01963 359 444