As autumn approaches, gardening expert Monty Don has identified two crucial plants that gardeners should prune before September begins: lavender and hedges. Pruning these now will help rejuvenate borders, support late bloomers, and prepare plants for the colder months.
Lavender Needs Hard Pruning
Monty warns that without pruning at this time of year, lavender will turn “woody and leggy”. He says: “The best time to do this is as soon as the flowers start to fade, which, depending on the variety, can be any time between midsummer and the end of August.”
It is vital not to wait for seed heads to form or flowers to turn brown, as you want to allow maximum regrowth time before winter. Lavender should be “cut back hard to a good compact shape”, but leave some new shoots on each stem, as “lavender will often not regrow from bare wood”.
Monty explains: “These new shoots will grow fast and provide an attractive and healthy cover to protect the plant in winter and provide the basis of next year’s display.” By pruning annually, a robust lavender plant can thrive for more than ten years. Neglecting this care may lead to a shorter lifespan and lack of blooms.
Hedges Safe to Trim Now
The gardening pro notes that it is safe now to trim hedges because the vast “majority of nesting birds have fledged”. Summer pruning results in “slower, less vigorous regrowth” than a winter trim, so clip hedges to the desired height and shape for the rest of the year.
Monty instructs: “Start with the sides, making sure that you have a slight ’batter’ or outward slope from the top to the bottom. This ensures that the lower section is not shaded by the top growth, which is always more bushy as it gets more light, and the hedge remains fully ‘furnished’ right down to the ground.” Finally, cut the top using a string strung between canes as a guide. Deciduous hedge trimmings can be mown and added to the compost heap; evergreen ones should go to council green waste.
