Plant lavender (Lavandula spp.) where it will grow best and you will be rewarded with a beloved perennial that blooms from early summer into fall. With more than 45 known species of lavender and ten times as many varieties — some bred to highlight specific strengths — the best method for planting can vary. In general, if you have the right soil and sufficient sunlight, lavender can be planted in the ground and will grow up to 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide with minimal maintenance. But if you don’t have a good spot in the ground for it, it’s better to grow lavender in containers so that you can more easily control its growing environment.

Lavender is a tender perennial, meaning it will only overwinter under certain conditions. Being native primarily to the Mediterranean region, it needs a moderate climate under full sun and in fertile soil that drains well, with a neutral to alkaline pH. So whether you plant your lavender in the ground or containers, you’ll want to give whatever variety of lavender you choose at least six hours of direct sunlight, make sure your soil is rich in organic matter, avoid over-watering, and measure the pH of your soil to make sure it’s not too acidic.

There are a number of reasons to grow lavender in containers. The most obvious is that you have nowhere else to grow it, such as an apartment complex where you don’t have access to an outdoor garden. You might also have poor soil, soil that doesn’t drain well, or soil in an area that doesn’t receive enough sun.

Containers drain more quickly than your garden soil, which for lavender is generally a good thing, since lavender plants prefer well-draining soil. Just make sure that your containers have drainage holes, as lavender roots can rot in soggy soil. Because you have a better sense of what’s in the soil, containers can be a preferable place to grow lavender if you’re looking to grow a year-round herb garden to use lavender for cooking, soaps, or herbal remedies. Your garden soil can contain substances that you wouldn’t want to ingest and should always be tested for contaminants before growing any edibles that you’ve planted in the ground.

Some species of lavender are hardier than others. English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) can overwinter well in Zones 5 to 9, while Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) is generally restricted to Zones 7 to 10, and French lavender (Lavandula dentata) does best in Zones 8 to 11. If you live outside of those zones, containers make it easier to bring your plants indoors over the winter. Spanish lavender only grows up to 9 inches, and English lavender can come in dwarf cultivars, so these varieties are less likely to get lost in a container than in the ground. You can also keep your lavender plants in containers until they are mature enough to plant in the ground as part of a mass planting.

The main benefit of growing lavender in the ground is that if you have the right growing conditions, maintenance is minimal. Unlike container-grown lavender, you don’t have to worry about your plant outgrowing its container. Lavender can be drought-tolerant, but if you prefer low-maintenance gardening or are away for long periods of time, in-ground plants can need less watering than container-grown ones, especially in the heat of the summer. In the winter, in-ground plants need less protection than container plants because the ground usually stays warm enough below the root line to help lavender survive in the ground, while container-grown plants might need to be moved indoors to a dry spot like a garage.

If you live in the appropriate hardiness zone, have a spot that gets six or more hours of direct sunlight, and test the health of your soil to make sure that it drains well, then your in-ground lavender can be a showstopper once it grows into a small shrub. Its fragrance can delight people with vision impairment, children, and pollinators. Lavender works well when mass-planted or as a companion to other lavender-colored, highly scented plants like catmint (Nepeta x faassenii), Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia), and hyssop (Agastache spp.), all of which like room to grow and are better suited for planting in the ground. If you don’t have those ideal conditions, however, consider the benefits of growing lavender in containers. It does require more maintenance, but lavender’s beauty and fragrance is well worth the effort.