Lavandula stoechas Bella Toscane - French lavender

Lavandula stoechas 'Bella Toscane' is a particularly compact butterfly lavender that concentrates all the charm of the Mediterranean garrigue into a small, regular shrub. Its numerous violet spikes topped with feathery bracts succeed each other from spring to summer above a very aromatic, evergreen grey-green foliage. This naturally branched lavender for beds and pots maintains a neat appearance without pruning. It thrives in a free-draining, non-calcareous soil, in a warm and sunny spot.

The species Lavandula stoechas belongs to the Lamiaceae family. It is a perennial undershrub, with evergreen foliage, commonly called butterfly lavender, French lavender, or topped lavender. Its main accepted botanical synonym is Stoechas officinarum. It is native to the entire Mediterranean basin: it is found from southern Europe to the North African coasts and as far as the Near East, on dry hillsides, garrigue and scrub vegetation, in stony, poor, acidic, very well-drained soils. The inflorescences are thick, quadrangular spikes, topped with a tuft of sterile, lighter-coloured bracts, which act as small flags for insects.

'Bella Toscane' is a protected horticultural selection under the code 'H 1116'. It was created by the nursery Kwekerij Arends in the Netherlands and distributed in Europe by the company Plantipp. It is part of a series of "Bella" butterfly lavenders, characterised by a naturally compact habit, excellent branching ability and very early flowering. Compared to the type species, Bella Toscane is distinguished by its lower, particularly dense vegetation, longer and more abundant flowering from a young age, as well as good resistance to botrytis, the fungus that stains flowers in damp conditions. In the ground, it forms a cushion 25 to 30 cm high and 20 to 30 cm wide, with fairly rapid growth. The very narrow, grey-green leaves release a powerful fragrance as soon as they are touched. From April to June, or even until July, the plant is covered with a multitude of short, upright spikes of a deep violet, topped with mauve bracts. The fragrance of the flowers is intense, like lavender, with a slightly more resinous note than true lavender. It attracts many pollinating insects. The fibrous and fairly shallow root system allows the plant to withstand drought well once established, but it dislikes stagnant moisture, especially in winter. Its hardiness is rated at -8/-10 °C at the lowest in dry soil.

In the garden, in favourable climates, Lavandula stoechas 'Bella Toscane' can be used anywhere where in the sun with good drainage. It can be planted as a low border along a path, at the foot of a low wall, in a rockery or on a dry slope. In a pot, it easily finds its place on a terrace or balcony, in a light substrate, with moderate watering. To create a dry garden bed, it can be combined with other compact butterfly lavenders, the very dark 'Bandera Deep Purple', and the all-pink Magical® Posy Pink. To enliven the whole, add the small steel-blue balls of Eryngium planum ‘Blue Hobbit’ and the lavender-blue clouds of Nepeta faassenii ‘Purrsian Blue’. All appreciate full sun, poor, stony, well-drained soil, and require very little watering once established.