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What to Do With Lavender Leaves: Six Uses, One Caution

Lavender leaves are usable year-round and stronger than the flowers — good for infusing, drying and repelling moths, but harsh used like a herb.

By Zakaria 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A lavender bush out of flower, dense grey-green needle foliage above a woody base
Photo: Anastasia Shuraeva, Pexels License, via Pexels
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Leaves are available all year where the flowers give you a few weeks — and they are stronger, because they carry more camphor. That is the whole character of them: more useful than the flowers for some jobs, and much easier to overdo in food.

Leaves against flowers

They are not interchangeable
LeavesFlowers
AvailableAll yearA few weeks
Dominant noteCamphor — resinous, medicinalFloral, sweet
CookingSparingly, like rosemaryCulinary lavender proper
Moth repellentBetterWorks, less strongly
TeaHalf the quantityStandard

The six uses

  • Moth sachets — the traditional use, and the one they are best at
  • Infused oil or vinegar — a handful of leaves, warmed gently, strained after a fortnight
  • Cooking — with lamb, in a rub, in shortbread. A small amount, removed before serving
  • Potpourri base — they hold scent longer than petals
  • Tea — see the caution below
  • Prunings — compost or chip

Cooking: the caution

The commonest mistake is using leaves like flowers

Higher camphor means they read as resinous and slightly soapy rather than sweet. A quantity that would be right for culinary lavender flowers will make a dish taste of soap.

Treat them as rosemary: a small amount, in something robust, taken out before serving.

Tea

  • About half a teaspoon of dried leaf to a cup — roughly half what you would use of flowers
  • Four or five minutes maximum. It turns bitter fast
  • Blend with mint or lemon balm to soften the camphor

Why they beat flowers against moths

The camphor that is a liability in food is exactly what clothes moths avoid.

  • Crush the sachet between your fingers every few weeks to release fresh scent
  • The effect fades as the volatile oils escape — six months to a year, then refill

Prunings

The late-summer trim is the best leaf harvest of the year

The plant is full of oil at that point. Strip anything soft and leafy for drying or infusing, and deal with the woody stems separately.

  • Shred or chip woody stems before composting. Uncut lavender resists decomposition and you will be picking sticks out of finished compost
  • Do not strip a plant heavily in autumn — the soft regrowth will not harden before winter

When to pick

Any time the plant is in active growth. For the strongest leaves:

  • Morning, after the dew dries, before the heat
  • Just before or during flowering, when oil content peaks

Common questions

What can you do with lavender leaves?

Six things worth the effort: dry them for moth-repellent sachets, infuse them into oil or vinegar, use them sparingly in cooking where you would use rosemary, add them to potpourri as a base, steep them as a tea, and scatter or compost the prunings. Leaves are available all year rather than for the few weeks the flowers are, and they carry more camphor, which makes them stronger and more medicinal-smelling than the flowers.

Are lavender leaves edible?

Yes, they are edible and not toxic, but they taste markedly different from the flowers and most people who cook with them for the first time use far too much. The leaves are higher in camphor, so they read as resinous and slightly soapy rather than floral and sweet. Treat them as you would rosemary — a small amount, in something robust, removed before serving — rather than as a substitute for culinary lavender flowers.

Can you make tea from lavender leaves?

You can, and it is stronger and more medicinal than flower tea, which some people prefer and others find unpleasant. Use about half the quantity you would of flowers — roughly half a teaspoon of dried leaf to a cup — and steep for no more than four or five minutes, because it turns bitter quickly. Blending it with mint or lemon balm softens the camphor note considerably.

Do lavender leaves repel moths?

Yes, and they work better than the flowers for it. The camphor content that makes leaves harsh in cooking is exactly what clothes moths avoid, so a sachet of dried leaves in a drawer or wardrobe is genuinely effective and is the traditional use. Crush the sachet between your fingers every few weeks to release fresh scent — the effect fades as the volatile oils escape, usually within six months to a year.

What do you do with lavender prunings?

Strip anything soft and leafy for drying or infusing and compost or chip the woody stems, which break down slowly and are better shredded first. The prunings from a late-summer trim are the best leaf harvest of the year, since the plant is full of oil. Do not put large quantities of woody lavender into a compost heap uncut — it resists decomposition and you will be picking sticks out of finished compost.

When should you pick lavender leaves?

Any time the plant is in active growth, which is most of the year in a mild climate, but the oils are highest in the morning after the dew dries and before the day heats up — the same rule as for the flowers. Leaves taken just before or during flowering are the most aromatic. Avoid stripping a plant heavily in autumn, since the soft regrowth that follows will not harden before winter.

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