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english lavender bare root plants Lavender Little Lady – Compact Dwarf English LavenderVariety: Little Lady Species: Lavandula angustifolia (English lavender) Colour: Pale violet blue, softer than Hidcote, with a hint of warmth Foliage: Evergreen, aromatic, grey green Height: 3045cm (1218in) Spread: 3045cm Flowering: June to July Scent: Strong for its size; sweet English lavender Hardiness: Fully hardy throughout the UK RHS AGM: Yes (awarded 2012) Sold as: Pot grown plants (P9 & 2L available depending on season) Plant outdoors: From
Little Lady is the lavender for people who think they have no room for lavender. At 30–45cm, she is genuinely compact: a tight, rounded dome of grey-green foliage topped with short spikes of pale violet-blue flowers from June. Everything about the plant is scaled down, but nothing is missing. The scent is as strong as you would expect from any English lavender, the flowers are properly formed, and the habit holds its shape without the splaying that troubles bigger varieties. She earns her place in a pot on a doorstep, at the front of a raised bed, along the edge of a patio, or as a low edging where Hidcote or Munstead would be too wide.
The RHS awarded her the AGM in 2012, a decade after the original Wisley lavender trial that established the benchmark for the genus. The trade name is Little Lady; the cultivar name is 'Batlad'. She is hardy to H5, which means comfortable throughout the UK including cold inland valleys and exposed northern gardens. If anything, she is tougher than her size suggests. Do not make the mistake of thinking small means fragile.
This is the variety we would point you towards if you want lavender in a pot and nothing else will do. Munstead works in containers, Hidcote manages, but Little Lady actually looks right in them; the proportions make sense, and the dome fills a 25–30cm pot without overflowing within two seasons. Use a gritty, free-draining compost (John Innes No. 2 mixed with perlite or horticultural grit, roughly 50:50) and do not feed. Lavender flowers better when it is hungry; rich compost produces lush leaf growth at the expense of flowers. Water only when the top couple of centimetres are dry. In winter, raise the pot on feet so it drains freely. That is the entire care regime. No lifting, no wrapping, no fuss.
Little Lady's compact size makes her the front-row plant. Put Hidcote or Munstead behind her for a stepped effect that gives you three heights of lavender without needing anything taller than 60cm. In a mixed container, pair her with thyme and trailing silver-leaved plants. In a gravel garden or rock garden, she sits naturally alongside Arctic Snow (white, similar stature) and low-growing sedums. Rosemary is the classic aromatic companion, though it will outgrow her. Browse our full English lavender range or see all our lavender plants.
Your lavender plants are grown right here and dispatched when conditions are right. They are guaranteed, delivered by next-day courier, and backed by a team of gardeners in Somerset who are happy to help if you have questions. Oh yes, and we hold a Feefo Platinum Service Award, which our customers gave us.
Little Lady is our first choice. The compact habit fits a 25–30cm pot without becoming cramped, and the plant holds its dome shape for years with minimal pruning. Munstead is the next best option if you want something slightly larger. Avoid the bigger Dutch varieties like Grosso and Vera in pots; they outgrow most containers within a season.
Around 30–45cm in both height and spread when established, making it one of the most compact English lavenders available. In a pot, it tends to stay at the smaller end of that range. In open ground with good drainage and full sun, it can reach the upper end. Either way, she stays tidy and does not splay open the way some larger lavenders do after a few years.
All English lavenders are suitable for culinary use, and Little Lady is no exception. The flowers have the same sweet, low-camphor scent as Munstead and Hidcote. Pick them just as they begin to open for the strongest flavour. The smaller flower spikes mean you need a few more stems per recipe, but the quality is the same.
Prune every year without fail. Give a light trim in spring (late February to March) to tidy the shape, then a proper cut after flowering in late August or September. Take off the spent flower stems and at least the first pair of leaves below, but never cut into bare wood; lavender does not regenerate from old stems. Little Lady holds her shape better than most, but even she will open up if you skip pruning for two years running. More detail in our lavender pruning guide.
The essential oil does have some insect-repellent properties, and there is some evidence that mosquitoes avoid concentrated lavender scent. A single plant on a patio is unlikely to clear the area, but a row of lavender along a seating area combined with citronella candles makes a noticeable difference on warm evenings. At the very least, you get the scent, and the bees love it.