Monty Don shares the ‘best’ time to prune lavender to avoid a ‘woody’ and ‘leggy’ plant

Monty Don shares the ‘best’ time to prune lavender to avoid a ‘woody’ and ‘leggy’ plant (Image: Getty)

Pruning is an essential gardening job, with different plants needing to be pruned at different times of the year. It helps keep the garden tidy, improve blooms, and maintain its health. Lavender is a popular garden plant that attracts a variety of insects, and it needs to be pruned each year.

According to gardening expert Monty Don, this falls at the end of summer. Many plants can become “woody” if left alone for too long, which can be prevented by pruning.

In a blog post, Monty wrote: “To avoid woody, leggy plants, lavender should be pruned every year.

“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.”

To achieve a well-shaped lavender, gardeners are encouraged to prune aggressively, ensuring some fresh shoots remain on each stem.

Monty warned that lavenders won’t sprout from bare wood, meaning it’s important 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 your lavender looks particularly tired even after trimming it back, it may be best to replace the plant entirely.

Pruning can help to encourage new bloooms (Image: Getty)

If gardeners forget to prune lavender when the time is right, it is recommended to wait until the following spring.

This is especially important for less hardy varieties such as French, Spanish and Italian varieties.

Monty also recommended apples and pears in July, as well as rambling roses to encourage repeat flowering.

Gardeners can also summer prune currants, such as gooseberries and red and white currants.

Remove any new growth crowding the centre, and cut the new shoots you wish to keep by about a third.

Monty said: “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.”