When passing through a cultivation of lavender plants, the senses of sight and smell are positively impacted by the color and aroma of its flowers, turning the place where they are grown into very pleasant places to walk, providing a sensation of freshness. , even if it is a summer afternoon in the Mediterranean region. Below is what are the Care of Lavender, as well as its cultivation.
Lavender
This endemic plant of the Mediterranean region that receives the common names of lavender, lavender, lavender or lavender, can be seen as cultivated plants and growing wild in natural spaces, has been described with the genus Lavandula, and is one of 30 species in the botanical family Lamiaceae. It is a bushy plant that measures an average of one meter high, which is distinguished by its exquisite and unmistakable aroma.
It is cultivated for being a plant that, due to its beauty and aroma that it gives off, is cultivated as an ornamental plant and for its properties it is used as a medicinal plant and for the perfume industry. The Latin name of its genus comes from the word lavare, due to the properties of its flowers that serve to wash physical and spiritual wounds. In France it is a very appreciated plant to produce perfumes and eau de cologne. It is used to repel and perfume cabinets, drawers and drawers, its flowers are placed in cloth bags inside these places. From its bushy spikes they extract oil used to soothe muscle aches and headaches.
It is a perennial shrub with many folios in the lower part of its stem. The leaves of this plant are entire, lanceolate and broadly elliptical, with jagged and divided edges, with branched hairs and sweat glands. Its inflorescence is formed by closely spaced whorls and generally has long scapes.
It has colored bracts that differ from the leaves of the plant, the upper bracts are different from the lower ones and stand out due to their shape of plumes or crowns. The calyx of the flowers has five triangular teeth of small sizes. The corolla is bilabiate, lavender, lilac, violet or blue, rarely white. When ripe, the fruit is made up of four nuculae, brown in colour.
Lavender plants are distributed from the Macaronesian region (the archipelagos of the Canary Islands, Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira and the Wild Islands) to the rest of the Mediterranean region. Independent populations are known in the north of the African continent, some in the Arabian Peninsula and in the south of the Asian continent and India.
Due to its properties, horticulturists have introduced different species of the genus lavender, varieties and hybrids obtained from crosses between species, in different countries to be used in Lavender crops with the aim of using them for distillation. For example, many tourists from Brihuega take photos with white clothes among Lavender crops.
Lavender Care
It is a plant that adapts to the climate conditions of the temperate regions of the Mediterranean. It is resistant to high solar luminosity which it requires for its growth, it also supports frost in the winter season. Their performance may be affected if winter temperatures drop too low. Although they grow best in places with sandy loam or clay loam textured soils and little to medium amount of organic matter, being a rustic plant it can adapt to any type of soil, preferring calcareous ones, but with good drainage to prevent its roots from are damaged or rotten.
Irrigation
It is a plant that in nature can withstand long periods of drought typical of the climate of the Mediterranean region. Among the Lavender Care, in the horticultural crops of these plants the irrigation frequency is once a week. Always taking into account on rainy days that this frequency will decrease for only the weeks that it does not rain.
Propagation by seeds
Lavender plants are propagated by seeds, these are sown in seedbeds so that they germinate when the third leaf appears on the Lavender seedlings. Lavender seeds germinate between 1 to 3 months and, to speed up the process, it requires an average temperature of 15 °C and good humidity conditions, it has to be watered frequently. To collect the seeds, it is suggested to place them inside a plastic bag and squeeze the flowers or shake them so that the seeds fall out. These are sown at the beginning of the spring season and transplanted in the fall or winter seasons.
Propagation by cuttings
It is a fairly easy method to propagate Lavender plants and this type of propagation is usually carried out because clones of the mother plant are obtained. It usually takes place at the end of the summer season. The cuttings or stakes are prepared by selecting a woody branch at the end of flowering, the branches are juveniles and must have a dimension of between 10 to 15 centimeters.
A clean cut should be made and the lower leaves removed from the branch and planted in nursery bags. To speed up rooting, a rooting product is applied. In order to increase the temperature of the cuttings planted in pots, they are covered with a plastic bottle or a bag to make the greenhouse effect.
Lavender Sadness
Lavender plants suffer from a disease known as Lavender Sadness, although it is not certain why it occurs, apparently it is caused by some fungi that affect the growth of these plants, preventing the sap from passing through the xylem of the stem so the plant slowly wilts. They also associate it with the agronomic conditions of the soil, such as impoverished soil due to overuse due to continuous sowing of Lavender, little root development affecting the absorption of water by the root system of these plants, affecting water demand.
Lavender Properties
Lavender has several properties, among these: it is antispasmodic, antiseptic, carminative, stimulant, digestive and diaphoretic. The composition of 0,8% Lavender essential oil is 30-40% free terpenic alcohols such as linalool, geraniol, borneol, eucalyptol. It also contains terpene carbides (ocimine, dipentene, camphene, caryophyllene), organic acids (caffeic, chlorogenic, rosmarinic), ursolic acid, tannins. To obtain between 500 and 700 grams of Lavender essential oil, 1.000 kilos of fresh plants are needed.
Medicinal use
The essential oil of the Lavender plant is used medicinally as an analgesic, sedative, cell regenerator, it is used to improve symptoms of flu and common cold, it is used as an antiseptic. It is used for the disinfection of wounds, and in skin burns that have just occurred, Lavender can be used in order to prevent blisters from appearing, it also helps to regenerate the skin. It is used as an anti-inflammatory for people suffering from arthritis or rheumatism, due to its relaxing properties.
The oil extracted from Lavender is used as a medicine, being widely used for its properties. Lavender oil is used in cosmetics, perfumery and for the preparation of gels, soaps and softening creams. Despite the fact that Lavender plants give off an intense and pleasant aroma, there is only 0,8% of essential oil in the plant in its composition. This essential oil is extracted mostly from flowers as it is the organ of the plant with the highest content of essential oil.
Internal use
- It serves as a relaxing infusion, helps to improve emotional problems caused by stress, anxiety and insomnia. Taken as an infusion, it helps control hypertension and also helps improve the functioning of the nervous system.
- To improve digestion, it is suggested to drink lavender infusions between meals.
External use
- It is used to eliminate bacteria such as trichomonas. Also vaginal infections, vaginal discharge and candidiasis.
- It is used to relieve pain caused by: torticollis, pain or tiredness of the feet and legs, headache, body pain in various places, lower back pain.
- Helps prevent and stop hair loss, applied as a hair tonic.
- The flowers of the Lavender plant, due to their pleasant and strong aroma, are used to perfume the environment and also repel moths.
- Tonic and exfoliant for the skin, a mixture of Lavender essential oil with aloe vera (Aloe vera) this blend helps to cleanse, soften, refresh and tone the skin.
How the plant is used
The Lavender plant can be prepared as an infusion and used to relax migraines caused by nervous exhaustion. This is prepared with its flowers and it is suggested to take it 3 times a day. If you have trouble falling asleep, you can drink 1 cup of lavender infusion before going to bed. Taking Lavender infusion after meals is good for digestion.
To relieve migraine, stress, depression or nervousness, it is suggested to take Lavender tincture in a dose of 5 milliliters, that is, 1 teaspoon, daily. Also, to heal asthma attacks caused by emotional situations. Lavender is widely used for the medicinal properties of its essential oil and is the most widely used way. This can be used in three different modes:
- It can be used as pure oil to apply 3 or 4 drops of pure oil on a cloth and put this cloth under the pillow and this helps to sleep serenely. Also the pure oil is used to heal wounds or stings caused by the bite or sting of insects. Also, to apply as a refreshing lotion for sunburn, add about 10 drops to 50 milliliters of water and mix.
- Lavender essential oil is used to give massages, to prepare 2 milliliters or 20 drops of this essential oil is diluted in another base oil used for muscle pain. The amount of this base oil will be 10 milliliters. Also be prepared, you can apply it on the temples and neck to relax and remove tensions that may be causing headaches or migraines.
- Use Lavender essential oil as a hair tonic against lice, it is prepared by diluting 20 drops of the essential oil in 500 milliliters of water and in this way a hair tonic is obtained and is used to rinse the hair when you have lice. Another way to apply is by placing a few drops of pure oil on the comb used to remove nits and larvae.
Lavender and the Environment
Any place that is chosen to grow lavender will be distinguished by its pleasant aroma and the color of the flowers of this plant. In addition, being a medicinal and aromatic plant, it is also effective against clothes moths. It should be noted that both its color and its aroma are its natural mechanism to attract pollinators in Lavender orchards, especially bees, which are one of the pollinating insects of this plant species.
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