It isn’t hard to learn how to trim a lavender with woody stems. Hidcote flowers in May or June, so if your prune the lavender in March or April, then the you will stimulate lots of new growth and the lavender can display lots of flowers. Pruning French Lavender Never prune French Lavender hard as they are unlikely to recover and do not like being cut back to bare stems. Your plant should be quite a bit larger this year, with more blooms. That way you have lavender in flower in your garden all year round. Like building a house a good foundation is the key to success in your garden. Follow us. How Far Apart to Plant French Lavender. English Lavender; French Lavender. Pruning lavender in late summer to fall helps open the plant’s interior to allow good air circulation and also removes some of the branches, which can ultimately help prevent winter damage. There are three main types of lavender: English lavender, French lavender and Spanish lavender. My French Lavender plant is only 14 months old, and it's lovely and bushy and a mass of flowers. Prune back after flowering, avoiding pruning into old woody growth. Commercial lavender growers will plant French lavenders 2-3 feet apart. It has always had flowers on it so when do I prune it, do I just give it a trim every so often. Pruning French lavender. However, avoid pruning in late fall because frost can damage the new growth encouraged by pruning. Lavandula stoechas is commonly referred to as French lavender. Looked after in this way the plant will be very short lived. In one instance, I was asked by a fellow gardener if “renewal pruning” was good for lavenders. How to grow lavender. The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. Blooming in Brisbane S3 Ep6 part 2 of 3 from Nicole Acworth on Vimeo . French Lavender has long flowering stems and enchanting, large flowers topped with purple bracts. If you prune them now, you’ll prune off this years blooms-in-progress, even though it may have bloomed twice in a season before. Reader Interactions. When pruning it's important to retain the green foliage and don't cut back into the old wood. Although summer, after the plant flowers, is the best time to prune, you can prune into late summer or early fall. Get involved. The main types grown in New Zealand are English lavender, Lavandula stoechas and French lavender. How to prune the different types of lavender. Lavender will not regrow from the lower stem sections, so cutting into wood will leave bare spots in the bush and weaken the lavender. Prune these lavender in spring when all frost is finished for the season. Of the different types of lavender, the one that responds best to hard pruning is a type of French lavender called Lavandula dentata. If lavender isn’t pruned regularly, it will become woody and produce fewer fragrant leaves and flowers. lavender. The basic rule of pruning lavender is not to trim into brown, dead wood. When Is The Best Time To Prune? Second Year Lavender Pruning . Heavily prune established lavender, cutting back all stems by at least a third after the plant is done flowering for the season. Comments. French lavender (Lavandula Dentata) Just as popular as English lavender, French lavender billows with strong-scented, grey-green toothed leaves and long, furry, ... Prune plants after the main summer flowering period to keep them looking tidy and dense. The better the soil, the better your plants will grow. I have seen much better results in terms of blooms, pruning English lavenders in the Spring then in the Fall whereas French lavenders tend to prefer Fall pruning due to their earlier flowering time. However, this can be a fun and easy job and should be carried out twice a year — once lightly after flowering and again later to neaten summer's growth. 01:42. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place. Cut mature French lavender plants back by one-third to one-half if they don't seem to be getting off to a good start. If the lavender plant is especially lopsided, is partially dead or lacks vigor, prune … Find out more about pruning French lavender. Lavender can be become very leggy and bear few flowers. ... Pruning. Guide to pruning lavender. Before pruning, it’s important to understand which type of lavender you have. Prune back after flowering with a sharp pair of secateurs and remove around half to two thirds of the current year’s growth, ensuring you leave new green growth where new shoots will shoot from the following season. How to Prune Lavender Varieties. November 9, 2020 at . They have different blooming times, but the pruning techniques are pretty much the same. Pruning lavender can be very crucial to how it will turn out and whether or not it will eventually thrive like a plant. Individual plants dotted around the borders look excellent. I love lavender! Lavender is prized for its richly fragrant flowers and aromatic foliage. By pruning in August, your English lavender plant will remain in good shape for many years. Many gardeners just deadhead hardy types which leads to leggy plants and few flowers. Or is there a time in the year when I can hard prune it by about a 1/3, do they ever stop flowering ?. Lavender in full sun can be expected to grow vigorously each year, so take this opportunity to reform your plants into the green mounds that are lavender’s signature shape. The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM). I’d also observe that (1) your lavender will try to resume (or exceed) their current size in the future and (2) planting more plants between them may make them all vulnerable to fungal diseases, which happens with inadequate air circulation. Pruning lavender – Is it English, French or Spanish Lavender? Jun 22, 2020 12:03am. While the plant is in bloom, usually in mid-summer, gather up the flower stalks and once again prune the plant back to 2 - 3 inches above where the soft, green growth begins on the lower part of the plant. This easy-to-grow shrub thrives in a sunny spot, in free-draining soil or a container. ... space is dedicated to Lavender. A frost can kill off new plant growth. Cutting back the old Lavender flower stems can be done anytime after flowering to remove the old flower stems and improve the plants appearance. A well-pruned plant can last for more than 25 years without becoming woody. French lavender (Lavandula dentata), flowers for most of the year so it can be hard to choose the best time to prune. French lavenders are short-lived and usually only last for five years. The English lavender cultivars (L. angustifolia) usually require more pruning to hold their shape than the lavandins (L. x intermedia). English lavender is easily distinguished from its European cousins, as it has a straight-up uniform flower. How to trim your lavender shrubs to avoid overgrowth. Taking lavender cuttings. How to Trim a Lavender with Woody Stems. For some lavenders (midseason lavenders like English lavender), August is the best month for deadheading. Lavender as a plant can be used as an insecticide. French lavender is shorter-lived and less hardy, so more likely to be affected by frost or poor weather. The question when to prune Lavender depends on what type of pruning is being done. Join the RHS today and get 12 months for the price of 9. Karen says. Pinch back newly planted Lavender plants. English varieties tend to flower in the warmer months, whereas French lavender will often flower in winter. The technique in this post is for English lavender, not French lavender but the method is similar. It can also be pruned now, just cut back about 25% all over, but I would normally prune it in spring, when the other lavenders are looking good. Take lavender cuttings from all your varieties every June and July. You may also conduct the annual pruning of lavender shrubs in very early spring to encourage attractive new leaves and flowers, which may be delayed a month by the pruning maintenance. Most common ways of growing a youthful, round lavender. Yes, I realize it looks a bit lost, but in a year or two it will look like a miniature French countryside! The reason for this is lack of or poor pruning. How to prune lavender. 2-3 feet will give each plant the space it needs to grow and prevents lavender from casting shade on one another which will restrict flowering.. Spacing lavender. There are many species, but the two most popular varieties are English and French lavender. Generally the best time to prune lavender is once the flowers have faded, so now sounds good. Here is a brief video about pruning lavender that I found to be very helpful. It’s an aromatic dwarf shrub with narrow, greyish leaves, and bears dense, oval heads of small purple flowers topped with with a tuft of purple bracts. Lavender Varieties. There are different ways to prune both the French and the English lavender, each has its ups and downs, but we will discover both of them. Join now. Pruning lavender is important in keeping a lavender plant producing the type of fragrant foliage that most gardeners seek. If you’re wondering how to prune lavender and when to prune lavender at the correct time, have no fear. Appropriate deadheading and pruning of lavender involve the elimination of faded leaves from the plant and bring about higher and improved blossom, making … You should cut an inch or two into the green leafy growth to give the plant a more … Choose young two- to three-inch shoots that have just started to harden up. Unlike many perennial plants and shrubs that can be pruned now, it is best to wait to prune lavender until after bloom in spring or in early fall before any danger of frost. Learn here about pruning Lavender plants. All of this information is listed below. Lavender can grow out of control unless it is forced into submission! Pruning is key to maintaining good-looking lavender. To rejuvenate a woody plant, prune in mid-August to just above a green shoot and hope for the best. Since completing my degree, I’ve been asked time and again how to prune lavender and other subshrubs. ... French lavenders (Lavandula stoechas and cvs., Z 8–9) 5. In the Garden. 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