Stop Growing Woody Lavender! (Ultimate Pruning Guide), by Hoofprints & Hydrangeas on YouTube. 17 min 10 s.
- Video length
- 17 min 10 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 7
What you need
Steps
Prune in late summer or early autumn, right after the flowers fade. Avoid cutting in wet or freezing weather so the fresh cuts can heal.
Look at the base of the plant. Old grey or brown stems with no leaves are the woody part, and they will not sprout again.
Find the new green shoots growing low on the stems. These are the buds you want to keep, so never cut below them.
Cut each stem back to about 2 to 3 cm above the new green growth. Leave a small tuft of leaves on every stem.
Work around the whole plant and shape it into a rounded dome. Keep the middle slightly higher than the sides.
Remove any dead, broken or split stems right down at the base. Clear all clippings from around the plant.
Check the shape from a few steps back and trim any straggly shoots so the bush looks even.
Tips and common mistakes
Never cut into the bare woody base, because lavender rarely regrows from old wood.
Do not leave the plant unpruned, as long leggy stems split open in wind and rain.
Use sharp blades and clean them between plants to avoid spreading disease.
Skip hard pruning in very wet weather, since damp cuts can rot.
Questions
Can I prune lavender in spring instead?
Light tidying in spring is fine, but the main cut should follow flowering in late summer. Hard spring pruning can remove the buds that would flower that year.
What if my lavender is already very woody?
Cut back to the lowest green shoots you can find and accept that the bare base will stay bare. If the plant is mostly dead wood, replace it.
How hard can I cut without killing it?
Stay above the new green growth. Cutting into the leafless woody stems usually kills that branch.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
