Pruning lavender in the spring
Growing lavender & pruning lavender for plant health
Planting lavender, growing lavender, pruning lavender & winter protection.
What is Lavender?
Lavender is a perennial and has been known to survive up to 15 years in home gardens. Longevity can be increase through many methods of lavender growing. Soil preparation, soil amendments, drainage, pruning, winter protection and proper harvesting can result in a life long lavender hedge.
Planting lavender in
well drained soil with a Loamy mix of sand, clay soil & compost.Well drained soil consist of a Loamy mix of sand, clay soil (south central Ohio) and composted horse manure or organic matter from a old wood lots will be beneficial.Add 2 hand fulls of limestone (a little dolomite lime if using rock instead of limestone) and a good base Nitrogen starter fertilizer during planting. Container planting will not require any weed protection. It's recommended to use a weed guard material such as polypropylene or other natural woven weed quard. Oyster shell mulch will also help reduce weeding. This summer of 2014 we added a new method to commercial lavender production by utilizing wood chips as a mulched bed weed cover, similar to conventional home gardening methods. New small lavender gardens need a dose of Nitrogen the first 2 years of growth. Then let the plant thrive on its own adding just a little lime every year to keep the PH up high, preferably 6.9 to 7.5. Using natural mulch materials like wood chips which break down will reduce the need to fertilize year after year. The biggest challenge is choosing a good Angustifolia planting variety that can withstand cold wet winters. The most hardy Angustafolia lavender variety plant would be Munstead or English which makes for a great addition to the garden with an elegant aroma pretty much year round, even in the rain!
When to plant lavender?
Peaceful Acres has played around with multiple seasons of planting.
We have planted in middle of May, June, July, August, and September. Although spring planting has proved to establish a much hardier plant than the fall months all seasonal planting have survival comparable survival rates. The only downfall we have found is the reduced size, yield and second year growth from a lavender plant planted in the ladder part of the growing season. Smaller fall plantings experienced more soil wash around the plants base which resulted in uplifting of the root system.
Winter lavender plant protection
Winter lavender protection is important for your Lavandula oil producers. Two well known varieties Peaceful Acres grows are 'Grosso' and 'Twickle Purple'. These plants may need a sheet covering the lavender bush during winter ice storms. Most damage occurs when ice coats stems, leaves, and base for several days.
Snow will insulate lavender plants only if no ice has accumulated before the snow fall.
Excessive weight of snow will create a situation lavender farmers call 'snow pack burn'. This happens when you have several inches of snow covering your plants for longer than several days below freezing. The biggest concern is ICE! Once Ice has accumulated on the branches they will begin to freeze the oil within the stem and the branch will die back.
Pruning Lavender in spring & fall for the best results in the Midwest
Several years of trial and error research with growing experience the farm has developed a guide to growing lavender to help determine the best growing methods. Many questions are asked when to prune lavender. Pruning can fall during any season which may require continuous pruning lavender. It's best to plan a pruning routine to reduce maintenance and to harvest the best dried lavender bundles from your plants in a timely manner. This reduces random pruning and lengthy, woody growth.
We have established three methods for pruning lavender plants to achieve the prefect hedge.
Lavender pruning- When is the best time to prune lavender?
The first growing season of a newly planted lavender plant it's recommended to remove ALL bud shoots as soon as the little green buds start to form. Removing any signs of the flower bud process will keep the plant in a vegetative cycle which encourages a larger, hardy strong lavender plant. Having an established lavender plant is essential for surviving the first winter. Allowing your plants to flower the first year of planting greatly reduces the size of your lavender plant for over wintering. This also reduces the second and third year harvested yields and stunts overall plant growth.
Typically pruning should take place during the harvesting of lavender bundles. This method reduces loosing valuable buds and eliminates the need to return for another day of pruning your lavender plants.
March through May, early spring is the best time to prune. Remove any dead branches all the way down to the hedge bottom. (see image) Following a harsh winter season as seen during the winter of 2013-14 (see 2014 Winter Blog) you may want to prune the entire lavender bush down to the bare woody hedge. You can feel the branches and notice if all the leaves are dry and falling off the branches. Pruning this early in spring with a dose of nitrogen will encourage vegetation to grow. Peaceful Acres trims off all lavender bud shoots as we would establishing a new lavender plant so the energy is put into new growth fast. This is very important when re-generating a thought to be dead lavender plant.
After the initial harvest sporadic buds will shoot up and form. Remove each additional lavender stem as ready. If you have tall stems where the buds have formed and flowered off you should prune these down below the first set of leaves before the bud stem starts.
Deep pruning I recommend only during the early spring.
How to prune lavender plants?
Pruning & harvesting lavender (LEFT)has a specific method on where to cut to reduce stress on the plant. It is known and recommended to prune two leaf sets above the woody growth. This reduces stress on the plant by avoiding pruning into the woody growth which can lead to rot. Leaving two leaf sets encourages stable growth and a healthier thicker lavender plant.
Pruning winter lavender death (BELOW) requires a more aggressive form of trimming where all woody branches are pruned down to the root hedge top as seen here in the images below. Initially the lavender plants look as if they would never recover in the middle of June. Fortunately we maintained our patience and allowed the plants to re-generate after pruning along with a normal dose of N-nitrogen. Two months later in August and September we were harvesting bundles similar to a second year crop harvest.
This reduced our loss from 90% of our crop to only losing 20% of our lavender fields.
Hard Pruning to the Root Hedge Two months after hard pruning
How to prune lavender: and when to, for the best results
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Knowing how to prune lavender will keep these gloriously scented plants in good condition for years to come, and ensure their structure remains neat and dense, too.
Learning how to grow lavender from cuttings and seed is not difficult. However, if not properly pruned, the plants will become woody and unattractive after a couple of years, requiring replacement.
‘Annual pruning will improve flowering and prevent lavender becoming woody,' says plant expert Sarah Raven , who suggests pruning lavender immediately after flowering has finished. 'Remove shoots to within one inch (2cm) of previous year’s growth,’ she says.
As well as being an essential plant for adding fragrance to the garden, lavender has long been prized for its therapeutic and culinary properties.
It’s also one of the best plants for pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, and is one of the best fly repellent plants, too.
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
Bear in mind that there is more than one kind of this aromatic herb to enjoy in your garden. English lavenders, such as Hidcote and Munstead, are the most popular, and the hardiest.
Other European varieties – namely French and Spanish lavender – are less hardy, and so you will need to take extra care when pruning. However, if you stick to a few golden rules, you can apply them to all of your lavender plants.
How to prune lavender – an expert guide
Many gardeners are overly cautious when pruning lavender, as they worry about cutting too far into the stems, which can harm the plant. However, knowing how to prune lavender the right way will prevent this from happening.
‘Don’t be afraid to prune lavender – the plants can become leggy and woody very quickly, and effective pruning will prolong their lives,’ says gardening expert Leigh Clapp.
Follow our simple step-by-step guide, and your plants will flourish for years to come.
What time of year should you prune lavender?
There are two times of year that you should prune lavender: in fall after flowering and in spring. And though you may have heard different opinions about when to prune lavender, and how often to do it, it is best to tackle the plants in two stages: ‘Trim after flowering in fall, then prune in the spring,’ says Clapp.
Don’t prune lavender too hard after summer ends, or the plant may struggle to survive the onset of colder weather. Instead, think of fall pruning as a way to harvest lavender for drying and scenting your home. Knowing when to harvest lavender really does depend on what you are planning to do with it; some uses require lavender to be cut as the blooms open, others as they begin to fade.
If you forget to prune your lavender during the summer, then it’s best wait until the following spring, especially for less hardy French, Spanish and Italian lavenders.
And when you do prune lavender in spring, only do so after you see new growth begin to appear.
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
Where do you cut lavender?
When pruning lavender, it's important to cut it in the right place to ensure future healthy growth, and this is a smidge above side branches or leaf nodes. This part of the plant tends to be green. Go any lower and you'll be cutting at the woody part of the plant, which isn't always advised, though some garden experts say you can do this – more on that below.
'Sometimes you may want to cut into the woody growth simply to tidy up the structure of an older lavender plant,' says Homes & Gardens' Gardens Editor Rachel Crow.
How to prune lavender in its first year
Lavender only requires a light trim in its first year, but to avoid the plants from becoming leggy in future, it’s important to get them off to a good start. Make sure you know when to plant lavender for plant health, too.
Tackle pruning new lavender during the summer, after the plant has flowered.
At this early stage, pruning is about encouraging new growth, and developing a nice mounded shape. If you have grown the lavender from seed or cuttings, then it is beneficial to pinch out new growth tips to help the plant become bushy.
There is no need to follow up with a spring prune when lavender is only in its first year.
- Using a clean, sharp pair of secateurs cut each stem back by up to a third, to remove the flowers and some of the green stem growth.
- Do not cut the plant back ‘hard’ by going near the woody base of the stem – it is essential to leave plenty of green on the stems when the plants are young.
- Try to make an even dome shape by leaving the stems longer in the middle, and gradually going shorter as you move to the outer edges of the plant.
- After trimming your lavender, you may get a second flush of flowers. Prune these the same way once finished – but do it well before the cold fall weather sets in.
How to prune mature lavender plants
Lavender plants will establish quickly, so from their second year you will need to follow a simple – but thorough – pruning regime to keep them in shape.
Start by giving your lavender plant a good trim in the summer. Prune plants by about a third into the foliage to maintain their attractive domed habit when in flower. To do this, grab handfuls of the stems and, using clean, sharp secateurs, snip them off.
‘Stems at this level are about drinking straw thickness and regenerate well if there are plenty of small nodules or shoots below the cut,' says master grower Simon Charlesworth, of Downderry Lavender .
'By the time they go dormant in the fall the lavenders should have re-clothed themselves with fresh young shoots that will harden off before the vagaries of the winter weather.'
Try to maintain a good rounded shape to the plant, but do not cut too close to the woody base of the stems, or the plant might struggle to overwinter.
Follow up with a harder prune in the spring.
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
Pruning lavender in spring
Spring is the time for pruning your lavender harder to minimize the development of woody stems and encourage fresh new growth. You should do this early in the season, to give the plant plenty of time to reestablish itself.
However, it's vital that you do not cut the stems too far down into the old wood.
‘If you crop the entire plant back to old wood it can mean big trouble,’ says celebrity gardener Monty Don in his book The Complete Gardener .
‘If you cut into the old wood, which does not have any leaves, and new leaves do not grow, then it will not survive.’
How much wood your lavender plant has depends on the plant’s age, and how well it has been pruned in the past.
- Take a stem and examine it – you’ll notice it has a woody base set below the leafy section.
- Using a clean, sharp pair of secateurs, cut the stem around 2-3 inches above the woody base, into the leafy section of the stem.
Avoid cutting into wood below. - You can prune handfuls of stems at a time, and for hedges you might find it easier to use shears.
- Try to create a nice rounded shape to your lavender plant by pruning the outer stems a little shorter than the inner stems.
- Where there are dead, frost-damaged or diseased branches, these should be completely removed.
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
How to prune lavender that is woody
When lavender is a few years old, it can develop long, ‘woody’ stems that look unsightly. However, if you know how to prune lavender like the experts, then you should be able to rejuvenate the plants.
‘‘The normal advice is to replace plants when they become leggy, usually after three to five years. But I avoid having to do this by cutting right back into the wood,’ says Judith Hann, author of Herbs . ‘I have not lost a lavender plant yet in the 20 years they have been growing in my garden.’
Though usually avoided, cutting lavender into the old wood can be a good way to renovate them.
The trick is to make sure you can still see some signs of life in the form of growth nodes below the cutting point. If you cut beyond this, the stems are unlikely to recover, so examine them closely.
Bear in mind you are taking a risk, so before you attempt to hard prune woody lavender, take some semi-ripe cuttings, so if your plant dies, you can grow a new one.
(Image credit: Raquel Lonas / Getty Images)
Should lavender be deadheaded?
There is no need to deadhead lavender; if you prune lavender properly in spring and fall, you shouldn't need to anyway. However if you love a pristine border and want to encourage a few new flowerheads, deadheading won't hurt the plant.
(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)
How to prune Spanish and French lavender
Spanish and French lavender are particularly attractive varieties, with distinctive 'butterfly' shaped upright flowers that may be purple, pink or even white.
The plants require full sun in order to thrive, and are not quite as hardy as English lavender.
However, they are no more difficult to prune and maintain.
As when pruning other lavender varieties, simply trim around a third of the plant's growth after flowering in summer. However, do not cut the stems back too far, as this will expose them to too much frost over winter.
Follow up with a harder prune in early spring, taking care not to cut into the dead wood.
How do you cut back lavender for winter?
While you only need to prune lavender in the summer and spring, Monty Don suggests a third trim in the fall, to help it ‘hold a tight pebble shape’.
Cutting back lavender before winter will create a tidy mound that will give structure to the garden over the coldest months. Lavender is an evergreen shrub, so it retains foliage year round.
Leaving faded blooms on the plant can also provide food for seed-eating birds, so it’s not always necessary to remove the flowers straight after blooming.
It’s still best to do your first prune before the end of summer, but hardier varieties can respond well to a light fall pruning before the winter.
Make sure there is plenty of green left on the plant, to keep it looking good over the colder months.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
How do you cut lavender so it grows back?
To cut lavender so it grows back, it's important to avoid cutting into the ‘dead’, woody growth. If you harvest lavender just as it is flowering, you might get a second flush of flowers.
What happens if you don't prune lavender?
If you don't prune lavender, the plant will quickly become leggy and woody, and won't be able to hold its own weight very well.
This means the stems will flop over when heavy with flowers, causing the plant to spread out and exposing more of the old wood in the plant.
As editor of Period Living, Britain's best-selling period homes magazine, Melanie loves the charm of older properties. I live in a rural village just outside the Cotswolds in England, so am lucky to be surrounded by beautiful homes and countryside, where I enjoy exploring.
Having worked in the industry for almost two decades, Melanie is interested in all aspects of homes and gardens. Her previous roles include working on Real Homes and Homebuilding & Renovating, and she has also contributed to Gardening Etc. She has an English degree and has also studied interior design. Melanie frequently writes for Homes & Gardens about property restoration and gardening.
Lavender spring care: how to care for lavender in spring
Lavender is still quite a rare guest in summer cottages. Dense, globular shrubs, completely covered with blue-violet flowers, exude a pleasant, recognizable fragrance throughout the area. However, in order to maintain a neat appearance of the plant, it is necessary to take care of it after the winter. How to care for lavender in spring?
In the spring, care for lavender in the garden will be required for both young and adult bushes. After wintering, the plants are very weakened.
They need to be prepared for the new season, pruned, fertilized and treated for fungal diseases. Such simple activities will support the beauty and health of the plant. nine0003
Lavender pruning
After the snow melts, the overwintered bush should be properly formed. Without annual pruning of lavender in spring, the plant will quickly lose its decorative effect: stems bare from below and an untidy, uneven appearance of lavender will not add to its attractiveness.
In addition, the formation stimulates flowering: the more shoots are formed, the denser the inflorescences will be.
Trimming lavender when grown in cold regions in the fall is not recommended as the plants may not overwinter well. Lavender seedlings are especially sensitive to pruning, not narrow-leaved, but more exotic varieties, for example, French lavender. nine0003
When pruning lavender, it is important to feel the measure. If you cut the bushes too much, almost to the base, then this will greatly weaken the plant and lead to its death.
However, too little pruning is also ineffective: single flowers will rise above the bare stems.
If the bush has not been formed for several years, it is necessary to cut it in stages. After the snow melts, the lavender is radically cut from the south side, leaving shoots 5-10 cm long. Only after the appearance of fresh shoots on the cut half, the northern part of the bush is shortened. nine0003
Top dressing
Spring care for lavender in the open field necessarily includes top dressing. After wintering, the bush is weakened, it needs nutrients for quick recovery and active growth.
Immediately after the snow melts, the plant is especially in dire need of nitrogen fertilizers. You can add humus around the plant or use complex mineral fertilizers.
They need to be applied only on moist soil: nine0003
- embedding dry granules into the soil;
- by watering with a solution of liquid fertilizer under the root.
Before starting to lay buds, lavender is re-fertilized, potash-phosphorus compounds are added.
Pest and disease control
Lavender is rarely affected by pests or diseases. However, wet, warm weather and poor ventilation can cause gray mold or other fungal diseases to appear on the plant. nine0003
To protect the bush, you can carry out preventive treatment with the onset of sustained heat (above +5 degrees). Any fungicide or potassium permanganate will do.
Reproduction of lavender
Spring is a good time for lavender to grow. It can be propagated by seed and vegetative methods.
Seeds
Ripe seeds collected from their own bushes are sown in open ground in autumn. This is due to the peculiarities of the seed: to increase the germination of the culture, stratification is necessary - cold treatment. nine0003
You can grow lavender through seedlings if you sow seeds at the end of winter and beginning of spring at home.
For this, they are sown in a common container, watered, covered with a film and put in a refrigerator or cellar for 30-40 days.
During this time, the embryo is activated, the seeds will give friendly shoots. They dive in the phase of 2-3 pairs of true leaves, and in April-May they are planted in a permanent place.
Shanks
In May, when the lavender is sufficiently overgrown with green shoots, cuttings can be prepared for propagation. The length of the cutting is about 10 cm, all the leaves are cut from the bottom, and the buds (if any) are removed from the top. nine0003
Harvested shoots are planted in pre-prepared separate containers with a nutrient substrate. For rooting, a ready-made substrate is suitable, disinfected and flavored with vermiculite, river sand or perlite. You can plant lavender in a greenhouse.
Planted cuttings are watered regularly, not allowing the soil to dry out. After 1-1.5 months, the plants will begin to grow roots.
It is too early to transplant them to a permanent place: young lavender should take root well before autumn. nine0003
Layers
The easiest way to propagate lavender is by layering. In this case, in a year you can get several independent, stronger plants. They will develop faster than the cuttings "brothers" and will be covered with a hat of flowers earlier.
To obtain layering from an adult bush, several shoots are bent in different directions. They are laid horizontally in grooves up to 5 cm deep and covered with soil. The top of the shoot should rise above the ground. nine0003
As a rule, young plants are ready for transplanting the next year in spring. They are carefully separated from the mother plant with a sharp knife and transferred to a permanent place.
Caring for lavender in the spring will not make it difficult even for a novice gardener. Already in summer, the bush will be covered with numerous spikelets-inflorescences, which can be used to decorate the interior or flavor the premises.
Learning to prune lavender
Rules for pruning lavender
1. Pruning every year
If not pruned, lavender becomes a nodular bush. The purpose of pruning lavender is to keep the compactness of the bush, which blooms all summer with bluish-purple flowers collected in dense inflorescences, for as long as possible, to give it a neat appearance.
Under natural conditions, lavender bushes very quickly become tall, wide, sprawling and loose. Loose means that the top of the bush has a rather untidy appearance, and the bottom is bare and woody. Of course, we want to avoid such a spectacle, despite the fact that someday lavender will inevitably take on such a look. But the later this happens, the better. This way we can only allow the lavender to grow a minimal amount of height. And regular pruning will help us with this. nine0003
If you do not prune lavender for at least one year, then it will immediately grow, its shoots will become woody to the very tips.
For the plant, this does not create any problems, on the contrary, it enjoys natural growth. Nothing bad will happen to lavender if its bushes are not cut for several years in a row. But this will create problems for us and our aesthetic perception. The stems bare from below are always striking, and the bush itself has an untidy appearance. Of course, everything can be fixed by making a more radical pruning. But, the older the plant is, the more difficult it is to restore it. Sometimes you have to part with old copies. nine0003
Old, woody lavender bushes
2. Pruning time: immediately after flowering
German perennial expert Anja Maubach advises pruning lavender immediately after flowering - this is the second half of July, it all depends on weather conditions. The pruning principles for lavender are the same as for many perennials that are pruned heavily to encourage re-blooming, such as catnip.
Lavender should be cut when the flowers begin to fade, that is, when the flowering period is still present, but for the most part it is no longer visible.
The gardener must have an inner flair. nine0003
But the sooner you prune, the better the lavender grows new green mass. After all, plants need maximum strength to update. And these forces are given to them by the sun, daylight, warmth, and sometimes fertilizers. Lavender does not need fertilizer. The higher the sun and the longer the day, the better the plant is gaining strength.
The advantage of summer pruning is that lavender will grow a fresh, compact and beautiful green mass in just a few weeks. In addition, lavender branches cut in summer can be considered a harvest, as they do in the famous lavender fields in Provence, in the south of France, because it is during this period that the inflorescences are filled with essential oil. nine0003
3. Pruning in spring
Since lavender blooms only in summer, it is good to prune its bushes every year in spring, immediately after frost. This is necessary to rejuvenate the bush and to ensure that the bushes are not exposed from below.
4. Pruning to lignified branches
So, as we have already said, lavender is pruned twice a year. The first pruning stimulates re-blooming in the current year, and the second is carried out in order to give the bushes a beautiful spherical shape. Curly haircut is carried out in the spring when the plant begins to wake up. In this case, radical pruning is carried out, cut to lignified branches. Many lavender lovers are afraid to prune their favorite plants a lot. If the bushes are cut a little, then they will begin to be bare from below, and only a few flowers will stick out from above. No one likes this kind of lavender. Therefore, in order for the bushes of your pet to remain fluffy and compact for many years, the tops of the shoots are shortened by one third, giving the bush a semicircular shape. In this case, the main thing is not to overdo it, because too much pruning - to the base - can destroy the plant. nine0003
In summer, as soon as the lavender begins to bloom, cut off the long flower stalks before the seeds begin to set.
Plants want to reproduce, and the formation of seeds requires strength. Thanks to pruning, plants do not spend energy on the formation of seeds, but give them to re-flowering. This time, lavender flower stalks are removed along with two or three top pairs of leaves. Thus, the plant will branch well, and the bush will take on a lush appearance.
Lavenders such as 'Hidcote Blue', 'Siesta' and 'Two Seasons' will rebloom in as little as 4 weeks. nine0003
Lavender 'Hidcote Blue' combined with roses 'Rotilia'
5. Pruning bare bushes!
Old lavender bushes that have not been pruned for several years in a row require special attention. Older plants are more sensitive to radical shearing than younger ones. Complex, strong pruning can cause the death of the entire bush.
When pruning old bare lavender bushes proceed as follows: cut the bush strongly, leaving 5-10 cm above the ground, only on one side. The second half of the bush is left uncut.
