on a regular basis pruning lavender will help you grow healthier , full plant .
Knowing how to prunelavenderis an important part of keeping this plant healthy and looking its good . The ripe timing when to rationalize lavender is also key , but do n’t worry , pruning this herbaceous plant is n’t too cunning . A little measured passementerie rejuvenates your plant and provides you with armloads of fragrant lavender for formula , crafting , andflower arrangements .
This pathfinder will help you clock your pruning crusade appropriately and make the good cuts .
Credit:John Granen
John Granen
Why Prune Lavender?
Pruning lavender each twelvemonth provides several benefit , including :
If this does not furnish you with enough reasons to crop lavender , pruning is also the easiest way to get lots of overbold lavender for recipes such aslemon - lavender cookiesandherbal tea , as well as forhomemade bathtub bombs , potpourri , oculus pillow , and more .
When to Prune Lavender
Prunelavender plantsat least once a twelvemonth , although some gardeners prune them two or three clip in a single growing season .
Pruning After the Bloom
The most important prison term to prune lavender is instantly after the plant flush in summer to early fall , although you may want to give your plant a 2nd pruning afterward in the time of year if they produce an additional rush of flowers .
Because pruned lavender is more susceptible to wintertime damage , stop pruning your lavender flora six weeks beforeyour area ’s first frost date .
Pruning in Spring
Pruning lavender in the spring is also potential but this can be tricky , peculiarly with deciduous varieties . Lavender works often wo n’t spring up when they are snub back into their woody sections . For this reason , if you prune lavender in bound , always wait for raw leafage to sprout to avoid cut into the woody section of the plant .
Whengrowing lavender as a houseplant , a undivided pruning in spring is usually sufficient .
Pruning First-Year Plants
While pruning is the most important for mature plant , first - yr lavender plants also benefit from pruning . It allows you to shape the flora more easily , and pruning will encourage more vigorous growth and bushier stems .
There is no need to throw out the cuttings;use the bow cut to propagateyour lavender bush and acquire new lavender plant for your garden for free .
5 Steps for Pruning Lavender
If you ’re raw to crop lavender , it ’s often easy to get with a late - summer to early - downfall pruning . you’re able to always follow up with a outpouring pruning if you need to refine the look of the plant further .
The accompany steps work well on any kind of lavender , although you may want to be less belligerent with your pruning cut if you growFrench or Spanish lavender varieties .
1. Choose the Right Time to Prune
The best time to prune lavender is usually immediately after the works stops flowering , usually in late summertime to early free fall . Do n’t prune lavender too lately in the time of year , as flora prunedright before frostare most susceptible to cold equipment casualty .
It ’s good to prune plant on dry days and early in the morning because pruning cuts form a callosity faster under these conditions , and plant diseases are less probable to pull ahead entering .
2. Clean Your Tools
Before rationalize lavender , always disinfect your tool with rub inebriant to forestall the spread of plant disease . You may also want to sharpen the leaf blade before you go to check neat , clean cuts .
3. Cut the Green Stems
Gather up a surgical incision of lavender stems in one hand and cut them off with pruners at least 2 to 3 inches above where the woody incision of the plant begins . Continue this appendage , gathering up and pruning away lavender stems until you ’ve thin out the industrial plant down by about one - third .
If you ’re working with only a few lavender plants , this is well-heeled enough to do with lopper , but you may want to use shear for a magnanimous shrub or hedge .
Make pruning cut onlyin the light-green sections of lilac plants . If you cut into the woody sections , there ’s a dependable chance the plant wo n’t regrow . Only dispatch woody sections of the plant life if they ’re damaged or mar the overall form of the lavender .
4. Shape the Plant
As you puzzle out , attempt to keep the rounded look of the lavender plant by trimming stem slightly short toward the circumference of the plant life and leave them a act longer at the plant ’s center . This create a refined , mounded flora silhouette , but do n’t vex too much about making your cuts utter .
While it ’s not strictly necessary if you rationalise your lavender in the gloam , you may need to thinly trim it again in spring to clean up the lines of the plant and remove any winter - damaged stalk . Just keep in mind that outflow pruning may diminish the amount of heyday your plant produces , so it ’s best to crop ahead of time before bloom buds appear .
saltation pruning should only pass off after the plant lead off to sprout unexampled leaves . Pruning deciduous lavender plant before they begin to flip out is difficult , and you start the risk of cutting into the woody sections of the plant life .
Can Woody Lavender Be Saved?
Most often , the evoke redress for woody lavender is to draw out the plant life and start over . There ’s no question that rehabbing woody lavender takes some prison term , and it is n’t always successful . However , if you ’re willing to take a chance on an old lavender works , it may just be deserving it .
Rejuvenating woody lavender is ordinarily performed over the path of three or four geezerhood . or else of pruning the integral plant life back at one time , the lilac-colored industrial plant should be pruned section by section , allowing the plant to recover for several months between pruning . It ’s best to prune woody lavender in spring by cutting stem down by one - third to one - half . Make the cut in the green discussion section of the plant and only cut into the woody sections if you need to take away dead or damaged branches .
Frequently Asked Questions
You don’tneed to deadhead spent lavender prime , but it improves the smell of the flora and may encourage a second flush of flowers . After the blossom fade , nip off off the former flower with pruning shears or a sharp brace of scissor hold .
lilac-colored that is not pruned becomes less attractive , it becomes leggy and sparse , and eventually , woody sections will start to split and break off the works .
