Lavender is a gorgeous garden flower, favoured for their rich scent and beautiful colour. But to keep them healthy for years, pruning is an essential annual task. According to gardening expert Monty Don, this falls at the end of summer, which is looming for the UK.
Many plants can become “woody” if left alone for too long, which can be prevented by pruning. In an August blog post from 2024, 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, which, depending on the variety, can be any time between midsummer and the end of August.
“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.”
This means time is running out to prune lavenders, and they must be cut before it’s too late.
Monty recommended cutting back to a “good compact shape”, but it’s important to leave some new shoots on each stem. This is because lavender will often not regrow from bare wood.
The expert 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 gardeners forget to prune lavender before the end of August, it is recommended to wait until the following spring.
This is especially important for less hardy varieties such as French, Spanish and Italian.
The gardening expert also recommended pruning apples and pears at this time of year, as well as rambling roses to encourage flowering the following year.
Gardeners can also prune currants, such as gooseberries and red currants, now. It’s recommended to remove any new growth crowding the centre and cut the new shoots you wish to keep by about one-third.
Monty added: “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.”
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