Do you cut back your Lavender every spring? My lavender was looking pretty ratty with green growth at the bottom of the stems and at the top. The rest of the long branches in between were bare. So I am in the process of cutting them all back to promote new growth. Five plants are done now and 3 more to go. I hope I did the right thing. *fingers crossed*
Yes I think you have done exactly the right thing Chelsea. I cut mine back in spring too and they go on to become much bushier and far healthier.
Thank you so much for your replies Penny and Eileen. You both are very kind. All the lavender has been cut back and then I came back here to this site, started looking around and found more answers about lavender on the herbs forum. I am amazed at the wealth of great information here! Next time I have a question, I will look around before I ask something and put my questions in the right forum. I'm learning!
Hi there and Welcome Canadian Chelsea. I also cut my Lavender back - in fact I sometimes have to really prune them back hard. THey will definitely come back as Eileen and Penny says.
Hello CC, I prune my lavender every year right after they have finished blooming. I am careful not to cut the older, 'woody' branches. I pruned one back way down once and the plant died unceremoniously. I also like to prune my bushes right after blooming because there is still fragrance in the dying flowers and stems, and I hang little bundles of these about the house for a few weeks to have a bit of extended enjoyment.
I prune my lavender in the fall. A hard winter will kill some (or all) of the branches so it will need to be pruned in the spring anyway. But it will come back strong in the spring. If you have much snow it can break the branches and mis-shape the plant if you wait until spring. If your winters are mild, spring or fall will do.
I just inherited a plant but I don't know which variety. It has the bloom that looks like a bumblebee. Anyone know what that is???
