When to Plant Lavender in Canberra, Cold / Highland Guide
Soil temperature is modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Canberra), not a live sensor.
What this month normally looks like in Cold / Highland
In October the Cold / Highland zone normally runs 20°C by day and 7°C overnight, with about 58 mm of rain over 7 or 8 wet days. The coldest October night on record across the zone was -6.4°C, so a late frost is not out of the question. Averages 1991 to 2026, 15 postcodes, SILO.
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This Lavender guide is written for the Cold / Highland zone, which takes in Canberra, Cooma and Bright. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Cairns Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Planting window
- Oct to Dec
- Days to harvest
- about 52 weeks
- Sun
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 60 cm apart
- Soil pH
- 7.0–8.0
Lavender is a woody Mediterranean shrub grown for scented flower spikes used dried, in sugar and syrups, and for bees.
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Planting Calendar for Cold / Highland
- Jan -
- Feb -
- Mar -
- Apr -
- May -
- Jun -
- Jul -
- Aug -
- Sep -
- Oct S
- Nov S/T
- Dec T
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
Want a nudge when it is sowing time?
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How to Grow Lavender in Cold / Highland Australia
- Soil
- Very well drained, gritty or sandy; raised beds on clay (Yates, The Seed Collection).
- Salt
- Moderately sensitive. Copes with a little salt, but the harvest drops on salty bore water.
- pH Range
- 7.0-8.0
- Sunlight
- Full sun, at least 6 hours (Yates).
- Spacing
- 60cm apart, 80cm between rows
- Watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week in dry weather once established; never let it sit wet (Yates).
- Good companions
- Thyme, Rosemary, Silverbeet, Pear, Mandarin
- Keep away from
- thirsty leafy crops that need regular water
Cold / Highland Growing Tips for Lavender
Recommended Varieties
- Hidcote, Munstead, True English (The Seed Collection)
- French lavender for humid areas, lavandin for hot dry areas (Yates)
Key Challenges
- Hard frost
Pro Tips
- Full sun, very well drained soil (Yates).
- Prune by one third after flowering (Yates).
- Choose the species for your climate (Yates).
Pests and problems for Lavender in Cold / Highland
Harvesting Lavender
When ready: Flower spikes coloured but buds not yet fully open (The Seed Collection); cut early in the morning (Yates).
How to harvest: Cut stems with secateurs, bunch and hang to dry (The Seed Collection).
Storing and preserving lavender
How to keep it
- Drying. Hang bunches in a dark airy place until stems snap, strip buds, store airtight. Keeps: 12 months.
- Lavender sugar. Layer dried buds in caster sugar for 2 weeks, sift. Keeps: 12 months.
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Lavender
When do you plant lavender in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): not recommended
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Sep to Dec
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Sep to Dec
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Sep to Dec
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Oct to Dec
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Sep to Dec
- Mediterranean (Perth): Sep to Dec
Can you grow lavender all year round in Canberra?
No. In the Cold / Highland zone the planting months are Oct to Dec. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
When should I plant Lavender in Canberra?
You might be able to grow it here under the right conditions. Yates says English lavender tolerates mild frosts and lavandin is frost tolerant, but no source covers cold highland gardens. Sow in trays in October or November and plant out in November or December after frost; months are our estimate from the cool zone chart.
What soil temperature do Lavender need?
Lavender germinate best when soil temperature is between 18°C and 21°C.
How do I know when Lavender are ready to harvest?
Flower spikes coloured but buds not yet fully open (The Seed Collection); cut early in the morning (Yates).
What are the best Lavender varieties for Canberra?
Recommended varieties for the Cold / Highland zone include: Hidcote, Munstead, True English (The Seed Collection), French lavender for humid areas, lavandin for hot dry areas (Yates).
What grows well with Lavender?
Good companion plants for Lavender include: Thyme, Rosemary, Silverbeet, Pear, Mandarin.
Are lavender salt tolerant?
Only a little. Lavender are moderately sensitive to salt, so the harvest drops on salty bore water. Mix salty water with rainwater, and mulch the bed.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Cold / Highland zone, Canberra is its reference city.