Prune Older Lavender Plants Demonstration

Here we are 7 years later undergoing a major pruning of our lavender plants. This demonstration will show you how we prune our older lavender plants.
Good air circulation is important for the health of the lavender. Keeping the plants in a nice, tight mound shape will only help them to produce better blooms the following year.
Comment below for any questions!
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[@cavendish009]

Thank you for that - I did not know this so I am going out now to give them more "air" and light !!!

[@nancymoore8025]

Very helpful. Thanks, Doug!

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

Glad you liked it Nancy!

[@90210sky]

this is how paradise would look like

[@babsphillips8583]

So glad I ran across your video. I have 4 large lavender plants and the flowers and branches are ready to trim. I have been pruning them every year. For the first time in 7 years, I did NOT prune back my plants this past spring and they greened up and put out gorgeous blossoms anyway. I didn't know they could do that...was shocked. The benefit was that the plants stayed large. Now that they're even larger with this summer's growth and I have limited garden space, I need to cut them this time. Looks like what you just showed us is far easier than using loppers. I'm a Ryobi fan and have a few of their tools/mower. Because of your video, I bought a hedge trimmer like yours I just got yesterday. I'm about to go out and do what you just showed us, so wish me luck! I've never used one before. Thanks so much for your video...most helpful one I've watched so far and I've watched many over the years!

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

Thanks for the feedback and kind words, Babs. Let us know how they do next year!

[@donwheeler1683]

Wish I had seen these videos a couple of years ago before I butchered my plants! They did survive and bloom again, but now I know how to do it correctly! Thanks! =D=

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

They’re pretty tough!

[@alexg5513]

Very interesting, Thanks for uploading...

[@thegirl7583]

Thank you💜

[@jenmorricone4014]

Very interesting. My plants are 12 years old and huge. We got a ton of rain 🌧️ n Ca.last year. In the past I've taken a dremel blade and reduced the inner branches that are most .50 to 1 inch in diameter. Been lucky so far. I trim half a plant at a time, let it grow in, then trim the other half so the bees dont feel cheated. Now the plants are clogged with growth .again. Each bush is about 4-5 ft in diameter and we are set for record rain this winter, so the thinning process will have to be done. Fingers crossed. I know cutting into the wood normally kills lavender, but somehow ive gotten away with removing some major inside branches with the dremel rotating saw attachment. I think pruning half a plant at a time saved them....

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

Thanks for that info. It sounds like your plants are larger than ours ever will get here in New England! I have read about pruning Rhododendrons the way that you're doing it. They also have a woody stem. Another clever use for a Dremel!

[@GaiaCarney]

💜Thank You!💜

[@aurawright2130]

Thank you.

[@beaglemawm1517]

Thank you! I’m interested in making some cuttings. Would you make another how to segment on this? 💜🌿

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

I'd love to do another video on cuttings. I have mixed success with it. I'd like to perfect the process first!

[@katehobbs2008]

What a pity you did not show what you were cutting, instead of yourself. I am really trying to work out how to prune my lavender which has in 18 months made thick wood stems.

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

Maybe next time I’ll detail more of the plant rather than an overview. The second year growth gets woody. It doesn’t hurt to snip some of those branches to keep it off the ground and mound shaped.

[@audreymcleod6262]

Thank you been scared to get into it like thst

[@Serenity-fu8xz]

Thank you

[@annyc9504]

It helps, tks.

[@21_f_aus]

I haven'tgot any lavender plants yet but got some seeds coming and 2 of them are hidcote and munstead I believe, and there's another with is the normal lavender I guess... It's currently winter for us so I'm assuming for those 2 I named won't be ready until spring to start getting them to grow...

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

Lavender seeds take a long time to grow but baby them along and they should do fine. Have fun!

[@katz5434]

Hi, you mentioned putting cuttings into the compost, does it go well in the compost?

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

It is more “twiggier” than most of our compost but it adds to the organic matter that our soil badly needs.

[@katz5434]

@@mooremanorlavender5774 do you use the compost on all garden beds? (i.e veggie, flower etc) I have a Intermedia Grosso and English species and was unsure whether to put pruning flowers and cuttings into compost.

[@raymondkyruana118]

Wow so cool that you guys are in Maine! I'm in Mass but have been looking for people that grow lavender up in this cold climate! My Mother loves lavender and I've been wanting to grow her a solid grouping of them (10-20). However some plants seem to not be bothered by the winters at all where as others completely die! They were all planted before I knew much about gardening so I'm unsure of the variety. What varieties do you grow? Also do you ever sell plants, cuttings or seeds? I would be willing to pay a little extra for climatized plants like yours!

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

Hi Raymond, We have the best success with the English varieties like Hidcote and Munstead. We've tried other varieties - Phenomenal is supposed to be cold hardy but we've found it to be more sensitive to moisture/rain or a late spring. We sell potted plants in the spring around Mother's day but we don't ship. Best of luck! - Doug

[@raymondkyruana118]

@@mooremanorlavender5774 Thank you so much! I'm cold stratifying some Munstead and Vera right now but it will be a long time until they produce. I would love to purchase some plants from you guys. Is there any more information on this (size, pricing, age)? I'd love to come up with my family and check out your place as well! Can't wait!

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

@@raymondkyruana118 That would be great if you could come up and visit! We don't start our own plants but have a greenhouse start them, then we repot them for summer in 7" pots. We've tried Vera but I think they may be mixed in with others in the field. Each year we have a small percentage the don't make it and we fill in with young plants.

[@raymondkyruana118]

@@mooremanorlavender5774 Great, that works for us and we can't wait to visit! Thanks again!

[@biomed2560]

Although it was very nicely presented, I'm sorry to say that I didn't really get the message. The problem with older lavender is that it gets leggy with no foliage at the lower ends of the branches. The pruning shown did not deal with this, in fact it showed the opposite. Instead of cutting the leafless parts of the branches right down to an inch or two long, it left all those leggy branches in place and concentrated on the top ends. I could not see the benefits of the pruning shown except for thinning the bush and even that was not very effective.

[@JardinFoto]

If you're careful and cut back to the lowest new shoots on the leggy stems you should be okay. Do this in the autumn. If there is a lot of old wood with no new shoots there's not much that can be done.

[@gracev2335]

This video was very helpful. Thank you. Can I Do this now at the end of October? Zone 6a.

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

At this point where we are, I would hold off until spring for any big pruning. With a lot of plants, pruning too late can encourage new growth. In the spring we always have some pruning of winter kill.

[@gracev2335]

@@mooremanorlavender5774 Thank you very much for this informed advice.

[@JANICEMartin-fp4ih]

My lavender is very woody now. Can they be saved if I still cut them back next week?

[@katethegardener]

Most viewers don't have a gadget like yours. I would like to see how you hand trim it so I can do that for my plant.

[@emarkjacobs]

thanks

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

You're welcome!

[@Gracefulrose2]

Hi, how do you use the Spanish lavender? Are they edible? Or do you use them for oil? Or you only use English lavender?

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

We don't grow any spanish lavender as our climate is too cold. I don't believe they are edible like the English lavender - which is about all we grow here in Maine.

[@carolejean63]

I like them to look more straight up and pointy not round and bushy

[@JANICEMartin-fp4ih]

Can my woody lavender plants be saved if I trim them back next week?

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

Hi Janice, we usually wait until May until we decide what to prune or not. In the spring we just prune the dead wood, broken branches and branches that hang too low along the ground. If you want to see if there's life in the stems you can scrape a little of the bark. If there's green on the stem, there's a good chance it'll start to put out leaves once the weather turns warmer.

[@IMOO1896]

What do we do with the woody base?

[@swissmaid]

Good question! Mine are very woody too. Is this maybe a different type of lavender?

[@JardinFoto]

If you're careful and cut back to the lowest new shoots on the leggy stems you should be okay. Do this in the autumn. If there is a lot of old wood with no new shoots there's not much that can be done.

[@loweride32]

Is it too late to do this after the first frost?

[@mooremanorlavender5774]

We try to get it done earlier than that. My sense is you may want to wait until Spring. With some plants, pruning will stimulate new growth.

[@pikupstiks]

This video wasn't very helpful. I could not see exactly where you were cutting.

[@spicymeatball]

Great video. Can you adjust your camera to the side you’re trimming next time? I’m a visual learner 🥴🥹🤗

[@58daddygirl]

How long does it take you to trim all of your Lavender plants?

[@DougMooreArt]

We do it as time allows so I'm not sure of the time. Also, depending on the year and when it was last done, we may not need to do each one.