With its earliness, versatility, attractiveness to pollinators, pleasing fragrance and eye-catching blooms, this new lavender is a big hit with growers and consumers alike.

We in the industry hear it often: “The new gardener wants ‘dual-purpose plants.’” Nowadays it’s simply not enough for a flower to be pretty, but it should be fragrant, pollinator-friendly, gift-y, useful, oh, and easy to care for, too.

There’s not many crops that can boast hitting so many checkmarks on a list like that. However, lavender is one of them. Not only is lavender a bee and butterfly magnet, its fragrance has been linked to health and wellness, it makes an excellent gift, and its blooms offer craft-minded folks a multitude of DIY projects. Add to those benefits a pleasing color, garden habit and low-maintenance nature and you’ve got a winner for the next generation of gardeners.

Breeding to meet this market need, the team at Selecta One introduced the LaVela series of L. stoechas at last year’s Spring Trials. LaVela promises flowers four weeks earlier than its competitors. This gives growers a chance to hit early-season sales at retail. The series’ tight habit and great branching makes it ideal for producing quart and gallon containers; plus it offers a beautiful presentation with less breakage and a long shelf life. For the end user, gardeners will appreciate LaVela’s large, showy (and useful) florets from spring through summer with vivid colors of Dark Violet and Dark Pink. To help you grow a beautiful lavender program, here are a few culture tips from Selecta One experts.