Gardening expert Monty Don has shared the optimal time to prune lavender to prevent it from becoming woody and leggy, ensuring it continues to thrive each year. Pruning is a crucial gardening task that varies by plant, helping to maintain tidiness, improve blooms, and promote overall health. Lavender, a popular plant that attracts beneficial insects, requires annual pruning to avoid deterioration.
According to Monty Don, the best time to prune lavender is at the end of summer, specifically as soon as the flowers begin to fade. In a blog post, he wrote: “The best time to do this is as soon as the flowers start to fade, depending on the variety, which can be anytime from mid-summer to the end of September. But do not wait for the seed heads to form or the flowers to turn brown, as you want to allow the maximum amount of time for regrowth before winter.”
How to Prune Lavender Correctly
To achieve a well-shaped lavender plant, gardeners should prune aggressively while ensuring that some fresh shoots remain on each stem. Monty warned that lavender will not sprout from bare wood, so it is essential to leave these new shoots intact. He added: “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.” If the lavender still looks tired after trimming, it may be best to replace the plant entirely.
What to Do If You Miss the Pruning Window
If gardeners forget to prune lavender at the right time, Monty recommends waiting until the following spring. This is especially important for less hardy varieties such as French, Spanish, and Italian lavenders. Pruning too late can leave the plant vulnerable to winter damage.
Other July Gardening Tips from Monty Don
Monty also suggested pruning apples and pears in July, as well as rambling roses to encourage repeat flowering. Gardeners can summer-prune currants, such as gooseberries and red and white currants, by removing any new growth crowding the centre and cutting back the new shoots you wish to keep by about a third. He explained: “This will let light and air into the plant, encouraging the wood to ripen and spurs to form, which will carry next year’s fruits.”
