A beautiful sight and a wonderful scent - what's not to love about lavender? To ensure that the scented plant thrives every year, pruning at the right time is crucial. Find out here how you should cut lavender in July and what you need to keep in mind.
For many plants, summer pruning is now due. This also includes the beautiful lavender, which slowly begins to fade from mid-July. How should you cut your lavender so that it grows healthily and whether you can stimulate a second flowering by cutting earlier, we reveal in the article.
Why should you cut lavender?
Lavender is one of the most popular garden plants because it is hardy, robust and also a real eye-catcher. Its pleasant scent and valuable flowers are further reasons why this plant has become an integral part of most German gardens. Like most flowering plants, lavender cannot thrive without regular pruning. If this is neglected, the plant becomes woody and bare from below, produces fewer and fewer flowers and deforms over time. Therefore, pruning twice a year is one of the most important care measures for lavender.
When is the right time to prune?
Knowing how and when to prune lavender will keep these wonderfully fragrant plants in good condition for years and their growth will remain compact and beautiful. In principle, pruning is recommended twice a year - in the spring before new growth and in the summer immediately after flowering. Lavender should not be cut in the fall! The plant is sensitive to cold and the inflorescences can act as a kind of frost protection in winter.
Summer pruning can begin as early as mid-July, when the plant's flowering period is over. The withered inflorescences are removed so that the plant does not put any energy into producing seeds. From mid-August onwards, no pruning measures are permitted to prevent the plant from dying in the winter. If you forget to prune your lavender in the summer, it's best to wait until next spring.
Cutting lavender in July: This is how it works
The correct technique plays an important role when pruning lavender. There is a simple rule to follow. The so-called one-third-two-thirds method is well suited so that the plant grows compact and vital and produces abundant flowers every year. The rule says that after flowering, you should cut the lavender by a third andin springshould be cut back by two thirds. Since in some species the flower shoots grow longer than the base of the bush, this rule is not always correct. When pruning you should always keep an eye on the lower flowers.
How far back to cut lavender in summer?
When cutting lavender in summer, remove the shoots to within 2 centimeters of the previous year's growth. The flower shoots are usually between 20 and 30 cm long. Cut them back to the leafy part of the lavender once they have faded. However, not all flowers have to be dead for summer cutting. It is better to cut back a little earlier to encourage better new growth.
When pruning lavender, it is important to cut it in the right place to ensure healthy growth, namely slightly above the side branches or leaf nodes. This part of the plant is usually green. If you go deeper, you'll be cutting on the woody part of the plant, which isn't always advisable. Be careful not to cut the lavender too short. This can have a negative impact on flowering the following year.
A few additional tips:
- Cut the shoots at an angle with sharp secateurs.
- Under no circumstances cut into old wood! At this point the plant will no longer sprout.
- After cutting, water the plant well. TheLavender is a MediterraneanPlant and thrive in full sun and well-drained soil.
Trick: Cut lavender in the pot
Some lavender varieties have weaker growth and can thrive well in pots. These plants also need pruning in summer to keep them in shape. A simple trick helps:
- Immediately after the flowering phase, tie the flower shoots below the last flower together with a string.
- Use a hedge trimmer to cut just below the knot.
- How to get the perfect oneLavender bunches to dryand the plant remains healthy and compact.
Cutting spent lavender: can you stimulate a second flowering?
Summer pruning can not only promote compact and healthy growth. If you love a beautiful border and want to encourage a few new flower heads, it won't harm the plant if you remove some of the flower heads a little earlier. Removing the spent shoots encourages the plant to bloom a second time in late summer. This one won't be as lush as the first, but it will certainly provide beautiful accents in the garden or pot.
Also interesting:Lavender woody: What to do to avoid baldness
What to do with the cut flowers and shoots?
The cut lavender flowers do not need to be thrown away or added to the compost. You can use them for different purposes instead. From scented sachets to the production of bath salts or tea, lavender is a very valuable medicinal and useful plant.
For example, lavender can spread a fresh scent in the linen closetKeep moths away.To harvest the plant for this purpose, you should first have the right variety. There are species that are particularly suitable for scent extraction, including spit lavender and scented varieties of Provence lavender. You should harvest their flowers shortly before they bloom by cutting them off about 10 centimeters below the flower on a sunny day in the late morning. The flowers are then dried and put into scented sachets that are hung in the wardrobe.
You can find more ideas about what you can do with the lavender flowersin this article.
