Spanish Lavender "Rabbit Ears Lavender" (Lavandula stoechas) Organic Seeds – Pineapple-Topped Purple Blooms, Drought-Tolerant, Pollinator-Friendly Shrub

Minimum: 50+ Seeds Spanish Lavender "Rabbit Ears" — Lavender With a Pineapple on Top Most lavender reads as a haze of purple spikes. This one reads as a joke that keeps growing back. Spanish Lavender tops each dense, cone-shaped flower head with oversized purple bracts that flop upward like rabbit ears, a shape so distinct it's often photographed before anyone knows its name. It blooms earlier and longer than English lavender, tolerates poor soil and drought without complaint, and pulls in bees from the first warm week of spring. This is lavender for gardeners who want personality with fragrance. Who Grows Spanish Lavender? The drought-tolerant gardener building a low-water Mediterranean bed. The pollinator gardener wanting an early, long-blooming nectar source. The ornamental gardener drawn to the whimsical, rabbit-ear bract shape. The warm-climate grower whose region is too humid or mild for English lavender. The container gardener wanting a compact, fragrant shrub for a patio. What This Pineapple-Topped Shrub Actually Is Lavandula stoechas, also called Spanish lavender or French lavender, is a compact evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean, distinguished from English lavender by short, dense flower spikes topped with showy, elongated purple bracts. Rabbit Ears is prized for pronounced bracts giving each bloom a whimsical, pineapple-like crown. Plants form a rounded shrub 12 to 24 inches tall and wide, with narrow, silvery-green, aromatic foliage. It blooms earlier than English types and often reblooms through summer if deadheaded. More heat- and humidity-tolerant than English lavender, though less cold-hardy, reliable in zones 7 through 9 and grown as an annual or container plant in colder regions. Flowers are edible and fragrant but stronger and more camphorous than culinary English lavender. In the Garden & Home Pollinator border: Plant in a sunny, dry bed to draw bees and butterflies early. Xeriscape beds: Combine with rosemary and sage for a low-water Mediterranean design. Dried arrangements: Cut stems in full bloom and hang to dry for their rabbit-ear silhouette. Container planting: Grow in a pot on a sunny patio for fragrance and structure. Sachets and potpourri: Use dried flowers in sachets, though reserve culinary use for English lavender. Hedge or edging: Plant in a row for a low, fragrant border along a path or bed edge. Growing Spanish Lavender Seeds Start method: Start indoors 8-10 weeks before last frost; seeds benefit from cold stratification. Stratification: Chill seeds in moist sand or a damp towel in the fridge for 2-4 weeks before sowing. Germination: Sprouts in 14-30 days; slow, uneven germination is normal. Soil temperature: Best 65-70°F. Transplanting: Move outdoors after last frost, once seedlings have several true leaves. Spacing: Space plants 12-18 inches apart for air circulation. Sunlight: Full sun. Soil: Well-drained, gravelly or sandy soil is essential; wet feet quickly kill lavender. Watering: Drought-tolerant once established; water sparingly, avoid wetting foliage. Pruning: Trim after the first bloom flush to encourage reblooming and shape. Hardiness: Reliable to zone 7; grow in containers and overwinter indoors elsewhere. Longevity: Shorter-lived than English lavender, productive 3 to 5 years. Before You Close This Page This is the lavender that makes people stop and look twice. Rabbit Ears carries classic Mediterranean fragrance with a bloom shape unlike anything else in the lavender world. It blooms earlier, tolerates more heat and humidity, and asks for little beyond sun and well-drained soil. Bees find it before most other flowers are open. Cut it for drying, plant it in a xeriscape bed, or grow it in a pot by the door. Grow the lavender with a pineapple on top and a garden's worth of personality behind it.