White lavandin, Alba, freshly hung in the drying shed Our drying lavenders (and lavandins) Not all varieties of lavender, or lavandin, are useful for essential oil production. This is less to do with essential oil chemistry than with the fact that low yields make them unviable for commercial purposes. In the early stages of our […]
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The ‘Sponnee’ Story Distinctive spiked leaves alert us to a ‘sponnee’ plant (self seeded lavender) nestled in the vegetation growing between the rows of established lavenders. The propagation of lavender cultivars by way of vegetative cutting is predicated on the desire to standardise plants for an increasingly industrialised culture of essential oil production. Seed propagation […]
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LAVANDULA X. INTERMEDIA ‘TIGER ALLEY’ – ‘FARM LEGEND’ The farm’s entrance is hedges of alternately planted Grosso and Margaret lavandins. At the height of summer, when these plants are in full flower, the deep purple of Grosso against the silvery mauve of Margaret creates a striped effect of dark and light purple tones which has […]
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LAVANDULA X. INTERMEDIA ‘SUPER’ – ‘’BREATHE EASY’ Super is one of those cultivars with an identity crisis. There are as many as 3 cultivars assuming the name in the Australasian region (McNaughton 2000). The cultivar we name ‘Super’ at Snowy River Lavender is a large upright bush of summer abundance, in full flower about 1.2m […]
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LAVANDULA X. INTERMEDIA ‘SUMIAN’ – EARTHY & REFRESHING The French lavandin Sumian as a summer display is a profusion of conical mauve flower spikes swirling on long stems like a snake haired medusa – a daunting plant to approach with sickle in hand at harvest time. ESSENTIAL OIL The essential oil from the Sumian cultivar […]
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LAVANDULA X. INTERMEDIA ‘MARGARET’ – AN ‘AUSSIE’ BEAUTY L. x Margaret is an Australian lavandin discovered in the mid 1970s, by Joan Townsend while visiting her daughter who was living at the time in an ashram. While Joan is not sure of its exact origins it is thanks to her propagating from this plant that […]
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LAVANDULA X. INTERMEDIA ‘GROSSO’ – THE’GRAND’ LAVANDIN Since 1975, L. x intermedia Grosso has been the premier commercial producer of ‘lavender’ essential oil internationally. In full flower the ever popular lavandin, Grosso, is a billowing mass of dark purple conical spikes presented on a splayed spherical plant to 90cm round. Apart from the plants great […]
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LAVANDULA X. INTERMEDIA ‘ABRIALLIS’ – A FRENCH ORIGINAL The French lavandin Abrialis has been a significant essential oil plant since the 1930’s. At a commercial level it was surpassed in the 1970’s by the indomitable Grosso but is now gaining a following at a boutique level of production for those who are seeking a lavandin […]
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Our foundation lavandins We do not grow a lot of lavandin at Snowy River Lavender because our high altitude location makes our conditions ideal for the more desired angustifolia species. However, we do value the beauty and the diversity of oils from these magnificent plants. Unfortunately the high yielding nature of lavandins, and in particular […]
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LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA ‘PACIFIC BLUE’ – FRESH & PEPPERY In full flower and full grown Pacific Blue is a generous splayed bush to 75cm round, of compact cylindrical flower spikes about 7 – 8cm long. We regard Pacific Blue’s startling deep violet floral display our very special Christmas present as it reaches full flower usually around […]
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