How To Prune Lavender Plant: Beautiful Gardening Guide

A healthy lavender bush, with its fragrant purple spikes and silvery-green foliage, is a treasure in any garden. But to keep that treasure looking its best, one task is more important than any other: pruning.

This guide will show you exactly how to prune lavender plant correctly.

Forgetting this crucial step is the number one reason these beautiful Mediterranean plants become woody, sparse, and unattractive over time. A properly pruned lavender plant is a happy lavender plant.

Many gardeners are hesitant to take shears to their beloved plants, fearing they might do more harm than good. We’re here to take the fear out of the process.

With a few simple techniques and the right timing, you can ensure your lavender remains a compact, healthy, and flower-filled feature in your garden for many years to come. Let’s get started on the path to a perfectly pruned plant.

Why Pruning Lavender is Non-Negotiable

Unlike many other perennials that can be left to their own devices, lavender must be pruned annually. Understanding why will motivate you to make it a regular part of your garden routine.

Lavender is technically a subshrub, which means it develops a woody base as it ages. The fragrant flowers and foliage grow on the soft, green stems that emerge from this woody structure. If left unpruned, the woody base gets larger and larger each year, and the new growth becomes sparse and leggy, often flopping open in the middle. The plant puts its energy into creating more wood, not more flowers.

The primary goals of pruning lavender are:

1. To Promote More Flowers: Pruning encourages the plant to produce a fresh flush of new growth, and it’s on this new growth that the flowers form. A well-pruned plant will have significantly more blooms.
2. To Prevent a Woody, Leggy Plant: Regular trimming keeps the woody base compact and prevents the plant from becoming a sprawling, unattractive tangle of sticks with a few leaves at the very ends.
3. To Extend the Plant’s Lifespan: A pruned lavender plant is a healthier plant. It maintains a desirable shape, has better air circulation (which helps prevent fungal diseases), and lives much longer than an unpruned counterpart.
4. To Maintain a Tidy Shape: Pruning allows you to maintain the classic, mounded shape that makes lavender such an attractive landscape plant.

Essentially, by pruning, you are slowing down the natural aging process of the plant and keeping it in a perpetual state of youthful, vigorous growth.

When to Prune Lavender: Timing is Everything

Knowing when to prune lavender is just as important as knowing how. The timing depends on your climate and the type of lavender you are growing. However, the most universally accepted time for the main structural prune is after the plant has finished its first major flush of flowers.

The Two Main Pruning Seasons

1. Late Summer / Early Fall Pruning (The Most Important Prune):
   • When: This is done right after the first wave of flowering is complete, typically from late July to late August, depending on your location. The goal is to get it done at least 6-8 weeks before your first hard frost.
     
   • Why: Pruning at this time allows the plant to recover and harden off new growth before winter sets in. It shapes the plant for the following year and removes the spent flower stalks. This is the primary annual haircut that keeps the plant from getting woody.
     
2. Spring Pruning (A Light Tidy-Up):
   • When: This is a secondary, lighter pruning done in the spring after you see the first signs of new green growth at the base of the plant. It’s crucial to wait for this new growth so you know where to cut.
     
   • Why: The main purpose of a spring prune is to remove any stems that were damaged by winter cold and to lightly shape the plant before it puts on its major growth spurt. This is also when you can correct any shaping mistakes from the previous year.

In summary: If you only prune once a year, do it in the late summer after flowering. If you live in a colder climate (Zone 6 or below), a spring tidy-up is also highly recommended to deal with winter damage.

The Best Tools for Pruning Lavender

Using the right tools makes the job easier, cleaner, and better for the plant. You don’t need anything fancy, but sharp, clean tools are a must.

• Bypass Pruning Shears: These are the single most important tool. They work like scissors, with two curved blades that pass by each other to make a clean cut. This is much healthier for the plant than anvil-style pruners, which can crush stems. A high-quality pair like these Bypass Pruning Shears will last for years.
  
• Hedge Shears: For larger, more established lavender plants or for pruning an entire hedge, manual hedge shears can be much faster. They allow you to cut large sections of the plant at once to establish a uniform, rounded shape.
  
• Gardening Gloves: While not essential for the plant, they are essential for you! Lavender stems can be tough, and a good pair of Durable Gardening Gloves will protect your hands from scrapes and blisters.
  
• Rubbing Alcohol or Disinfectant Wipes: Always clean your pruning tools before and after use, especially when moving between plants. This prevents the spread of any potential plant diseases.

How to Prune a Lavender Plant: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Guide

Here we get to the heart of the matter. This method works for all types of lavender, including English, French, and Spanish varieties.

The Golden Rule of Lavender Pruning

Before you make a single cut, memorize this rule: NEVER cut back into the old, brown, leafless wood. The woody base of a lavender plant does not have dormant buds and will not produce new growth. If you cut the plant back to a woody stump, you will kill it. Always ensure your cuts are made in the green, leafy part of the stem, where you can see small leaves or buds.

Step-by-Step Pruning Instructions

1. Assess the Plant: Take a moment to look at the overall shape of your lavender bush. Identify the spent flower stems and the main body of leafy growth. You’ll also see the woody base lower down.
   
2. Gather the Stems: For a small to medium-sized plant, it’s easiest to grab a large handful of the stems, much like you would gather a ponytail. This brings all the stems together for a quick, uniform cut.
   
3. Make the First Cut: Using your bypass shears or hedge shears, cut off the entire “ponytail” of stems you’ve gathered. The goal is to remove all the flower stalks and about one-third of the leafy green growth below them.
   
4. The “Two-Thirds” Rule: A good guideline is to cut the plant back by about one-third. Another way to think about it is to leave about two-thirds of the plant’s overall height. Most importantly, make sure you are leaving at least 2-3 inches of green growth above the woody base.
   
5. Shape the Plant: After making your main cuts, step back and shape the plant into a tidy, rounded mound. Trim any stray stems to create a pleasing, gumdrop shape. This shape allows sunlight to reach all parts of the plant and encourages good air circulation.
   
6. Clean Up: Rake up and remove all the pruned stems from around the base of the plant. This “harvest” is wonderfully fragrant and can be used for sachets, potpourri, or simply placed in a vase to scent a room.
   

Pruning Young vs. Mature Plants

• Pruning a Young Plant (First Year): Pruning lavender in its first year is crucial for establishing a strong framework. Even though it feels counterintuitive, you should prune a new plant after it flowers, even if the flowering is sparse. This light pruning will encourage the plant to branch out and become bushy rather than growing one or two long stems.
  
• Pruning a Mature, Overgrown Plant: What if you’ve inherited a large, woody lavender that hasn’t been pruned in years? You have to be very careful. You can attempt a “rejuvenation prune” over two years.
  • Year 1 (Spring): Prune half of the stems back, cutting about one-third of their length. Look for any tiny new green shoots emerging from low down on the woody stems and cut just above them.
  • Year 2 (Spring): If the first set of stems produced new growth, you can now prune back the other half of the old stems.
  • Be aware: This is risky, and success is not guaranteed. Often, the best course of action for a severely neglected lavender plant is to replace it and start fresh, committing to an annual pruning schedule.

Specific Pruning Tips for Different Lavender Types

While the general rules apply to all, there are some nuances for different varieties.

Lavender Type	Pruning Specifics	Key Consideration
English Lavender (L. angustifolia)	Follow the main post-flowering pruning guide strictly. Very hardy and responds well to a firm prune.	Prune after the main June/July bloom. Some varieties rebloom, so you can prune again lightly after the second, smaller bloom.
Lavandin (L. x intermedia)	These are large, vigorous hybrids. They can handle and often require a harder prune, up to one-half of the green growth.	Their long stems are perfect for crafts. Prune after their main summer bloom.
Spanish Lavender (L. stoechas)	This type blooms earlier in the spring. Prune it right after its first big flush of flowers to encourage reblooming throughout the summer.	Can be pruned more frequently (lightly) after each bloom cycle to keep it tidy and flowering.
French Lavender (L. dentata)	In warm climates, this variety can bloom year-round. It requires more frequent, lighter trims rather than one hard prune.	Shear the plant lightly every couple of months to encourage continuous blooms and a compact shape.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What happens if I don’t prune my lavender?
If you don’t prune your lavender, it will continue to grow more woody at its base each year. The plant will become leggy and sparse, with fewer flowers. Eventually, the heavy woody stems can split open in the center, especially under the weight of rain or snow, ruining the plant’s shape and health.

Q2: I pruned my lavender down to the woody stems. Is it dead?
Unfortunately, it is very likely dead. Lavender cannot produce new growth from old, bare wood. You must always make your cuts above some visible green leaves or buds. This is the most common and fatal pruning mistake.

Q3: Can I prune lavender in the winter?
It is not recommended to prune lavender in the late fall or winter, especially in colder climates. Pruning stimulates new growth, and any tender new shoots that emerge are likely to be killed by a hard frost. This can damage the plant and leave it vulnerable. Wait until spring.

Q4: My lavender plant is flopping open in the middle. Can I fix it?
A flopping lavender plant is often a sign of two things: it’s either overgrown and woody from a lack of pruning, or the soil is too rich and causing floppy growth. A good pruning can help, but if the woody base has already split, the damage may be permanent. This is why annual pruning is so vital to prevent the problem in the first place.

Q5: What do I do with all the lavender cuttings?
Don’t throw them away! The pruned stems are wonderfully fragrant. You can tie them into bundles and hang them to dry for crafts, strip the buds to make sachets or potpourri, or use the fresh flowers in culinary dishes (if you have an English culinary variety).

Mastering how to prune a lavender plant is the single best thing you can do to guarantee a long-lived, beautiful, and productive plant. It’s a simple ten-minute task that pays huge dividends in the health and beauty of your garden. So be brave, grab your shears, and give your lavender the haircut it needs to thrive. Happy pruning