Pink English lavender
Lavandula angustifolia 'Rosea' · Lamiaceae
A compact English lavender with soft, pale pink flower spikes and the true lavender scent.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late July
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around pink English lavender
The planner designed this bed around pink English lavender when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why pink English lavender stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Pink English lavender × 3, pink
- 2 Cottage pinks × 9, white
- 3 Basket-of-gold × 8, yellow
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 6 Sea kale × 1, white
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Schubert's allium × 5, pink
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, flat plates and globes. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- A classic partner for cottage pinks. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- At the back. At 18 in it stands behind the taller sea kale (24 in).
- A step in the back row. Next to stiff goldenrod (4 ft) and little bluestem (3 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From late June to late July.
- Fills a gap. For four of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as a cottage garden: 27 of the 27 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The back corners are held by stiff goldenrod and little bluestem, the tallest plants on the plan. Basket-of-gold and cottage pinks finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where pink English lavender goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Pink lavender looks washed out alone and comes alive beside the purple kinds. Use it as one plant in three in a lavender edging.
- Mixed lavender edging
- Scent
- Bees and butterflies
What to plant with pink English lavender
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- English lavender 'Hidcote': in flower together for six weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
- Cottage pinks: in flower together for two weeks, from late June; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about pink English lavender
Does pink English lavender need sun or shade?
Pink English lavender grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does pink English lavender grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does pink English lavender flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 5 | Late June to late July |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Mid June to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should pink English lavender be planted?
20 in (50 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many pink English lavender plants do I need?
At 20 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 4 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 14 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is pink English lavender poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to dogs, cats and horses. Contains oils that can cause stomach upset in pets if eaten in quantity.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like pink English lavender?
These come closest to doing what pink English lavender does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Catmint 'Purrsian Blue': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to early September, blue, not pink.
- Spike speedwell: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 4 in narrower, medium leaves, not fine.
- Wood sage 'Blue Hill': the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to late July, blue, not pink.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat pink English lavender?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after pink English lavender?
Pink English lavender is over by late July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium': from mid July to late August, 18 in tall.
- Black-eyed Susan 'American Gold Rush': from mid July to early October, 24 in tall.
What does pink English lavender look like in winter?
Pink English lavender keeps its grey-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is pink English lavender good for bees and butterflies?
Pink English lavender is visited by pollinators and butterflies.
More Lavandula
- English lavender 'Hidcote' Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'
- English lavender 'Munstead' Lavandula angustifolia 'Munstead'
- Lavandin 'Grosso' Lavandula x intermedia 'Grosso'
- Lavandin 'Phenomenal' Lavandula x intermedia 'Phenomenal'
- Lavandin 'Provence' Lavandula x intermedia 'Provence'
- Spanish lavender Lavandula stoechas
In these guides
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Plants for butterflies
- Evergreen perennials, ferns and grasses
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Silver and grey-leaved plants
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 20 in (50 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late June to late July; upright spires; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; grey-green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- Mediterranean region France, Italy, Spain
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.