Lavandula stoechas Magical Posy Purple - French Lavender

Lavandula stoechas Magical Posy Purple, with its blue-violet flowers topped with mauve bracts, is part of a group of compact and highly floriferous butterfly lavenders that form very pretty scented and blooming cushions for months. This shrub, adorned with aromatic and evergreen foliage, is covered for several months with very beautiful spikes which are very dark purple, topped by bracts of a lighter purple. In addition to its ornamental qualities, this selection has the advantage of better withstanding moist heat, which allows it to be successfully grown outside Mediterranean areas or in pots in regions that are not too cold in winter. Unlike traditional lavenders, butterfly lavender is grown in non-limestone soil.

The Magical Posy Purple butterfly lavender is a descendant of Lavandula stoechas, an aromatic plant in the mint family native to the western Mediterranean basin. Wild butterfly lavender is a shrub with persistent leaves that bloom in spring on siliceous slopes, in non-limestone soil, which are very dry in summer. Butterfly lavender is moderately hardy (to -10°C at its coldest). Failures in cultivation are often due to moisture combined with severe frost, but also to moisture combined with heat, which promotes the development of a deadly fungus for the roots. The Magical Posy Purple variety is less sensitive to this lethal combination. It is a compact shrub with a dense growth habit and a rounded shape. Its quadrangular stems bear narrow and downy leaves, greyish green in colour, with fringed edges, releasing a pine fragrance when crushed. The plant rarely exceeds 50 cm (20in) in height at the time of flowering. It blooms from late April to late September, and even longer, depending on the climate. At the tip of each stem, a dense, short-stalked, thick, square-shaped spike is formed, bearing tiny purple flowers. This spike is crowned with several petaloid violet bracts, resembling butterfly wings. It is heavily visited by pollinating insects, especially bees. It is a nectar-rich and honey-producing plant.

Properties: Due to its highly honey-producing nature, lavender contributes to the conservation of bees: the nectar from its flower attracts bees, making it one of the most renowned honey plants.