Every season tells a different story in the lavender fields. This year, alongside the familiar purple blooms and summer harvest, we're also beginning an important new chapter—one focused on renewal, resilience and the future of lavender at Los Poblanos.
For more than 25 years, lavender has been at the heart of our farm. The fields have weathered droughts, floods, freezing winters and scorching summers, producing the fragrant harvests that inspire so much of what we do. Like all living things, however, lavender has a lifespan, and many of our plants have now reached an age where they are naturally beginning to decline.
A Closer Look at This Year's Fields
As spring arrived this year, our farm team noticed that some of the oldest lavender plants were slower than usual to emerge from dormancy. While we anticipated seeing some decline as the plants aged, further observation revealed that several factors had combined to create additional challenges.
Over the past few years, our lavender has faced increasing pressure from extreme summer heat, persistent gopher activity and the complexities of managing irrigation in a field where plants of many different ages grow side by side. Older plants and newly established plants require different amounts of water, making it difficult to provide ideal conditions for every section of the field.
These stresses left some of our oldest lavender more susceptible to a naturally occurring soil organism that can affect root health and vigor. After working with local agricultural experts and conducting laboratory testing through New Mexico State University, we confirmed its presence in portions of the field.
While this discovery helped explain what we were seeing in the fields, it also provided something equally valuable: a clear path forward.
Rebuilding For the Future
The good news is that this challenge arrived at a time when we were already investing in the next generation of lavender.
This spring, our farm team planted more than 1,000 young lavender plants propagated from healthy stock. These new plants represent the future of our fields and are part of a long-term effort to rebuild lavender blocks in a way that supports stronger plant health and more efficient water management.
As we replant, we're organizing fields by age so that plants with similar water needs can grow together. This allows us to fine-tune irrigation and create healthier conditions throughout the growing cycle. We are also implementing additional measures to limit the movement of soil and water between planting areas, carefully monitoring field conditions and continuing to strengthen our greenhouse propagation practices.
Many of this year's young plants were also inoculated with beneficial soil fungi that support root development and overall plant resilience. Combined with thoughtful irrigation strategies and ongoing research, these practices will help us establish stronger fields for years to come.
Harvest Continues
Although some areas of the farm are in transition, lavender season is far from over.
A significant portion of our fields remains healthy and productive, and we will continue harvesting and distilling lavender this summer. Yields may be smaller than in some previous years, but visitors can still expect to see blooming lavender, experience the fragrance of harvest season and watch as fresh lavender is distilled into the essential oil and hydrosol used throughout our products.
In many ways, this year's harvest reflects the realities of farming in New Mexico: adapting to changing conditions, learning from the land and continually investing in what comes next.
Looking Ahead
Farming has always required patience, resilience and optimism. While this season has brought unexpected challenges, it has also created an opportunity to reimagine and strengthen our lavender fields for the future.
The thousands of young plants now taking root across the farm are a reminder that renewal is already underway. With careful stewardship, ongoing research and the dedication of our farm team, we're confident that the next chapter of Los Poblanos lavender is already growing.
Thank you for following along with the journey and for supporting the work of our farm. We look forward to sharing this season's harvest with you.
