A gardening expert has urged gardeners to perform a simple summer task to stop lavender from becoming leggy and woody, ensuring it continues to bloom beautifully year after year. Lavender, prized for its purple foliage and potent fragrance, can develop long, thin, and woody stems with reduced leaves and blooms if not properly maintained.
Why Lavender Becomes Leggy
When a lavender plant is described as leggy, it means it has grown stems that are long, thin, and often woody, with fewer leaves and flowers than a healthy plant. This condition often results from inadequate or incorrect pruning. According to the gardening expert and TikTok creator Ish, a timely trim can prevent this during the flowering period.
Ish explained in a recent video: "If your lavender is looking a little on the leggy side or woody underneath, you're going to need to make sure you do this properly, otherwise you're going to end up with no lavender at all - and it's incredibly simple."
The Ideal Pruning Time
Optimal pruning for lavender is typically in late summer, around August or September. However, Ish notes that an early summer prune is acceptable to improve the plant's shape and prevent legginess. This trim keeps the plant tidy and visually appealing while promoting fresh growth. He warned against cutting stems back to the woody section, as this risks minimal regrowth. Instead, gardeners should remove a small portion from the top where spent flowers remain.
How to Perform the Summer Trim
Ish advised that this modest trim encourages the lavender to "bush out" while relieving the heavy weight on the stems. For a more substantial cut at the end of summer, he recommended a "big summer chop." He said: "So, where you take the whole lavender plant, and only the green foliage, you cut about a third to half of it straight off. It feels really, really harsh, but as a result, next year you get these amazing blooms of flower and is bushed out as opposed to getting tall so it's not falling all over the place."
Additional Care Tips
To ensure lavender thrives, plant it in a location with ample sunlight and use free-draining soil. Occasional watering and rainfall typically provide sufficient hydration. Gardeners are also advised to apply quality compost on top of the soil to supply necessary nutrients. Gardeners' World warned: "Lavender can become very leggy, bearing few flowers. The reason for this is lack of, or poor, pruning. Many gardeners just deadhead hardy types, which also leads to leggy plants and not many flowers. Looked after in this way, the plant will be very short-lived."
Winter Preparation
After flowering in summer, gardeners should give lavender a substantial trim. However, cutting too deeply into old wood can prevent the plant from regenerating. The lavender will produce some new shoots of a few inches, which should be left alone as they help protect the plant during colder winter months. By following these simple steps, gardeners can enjoy healthy, bushy lavender with abundant blooms year after year.
