Hi everyone -- I turned my woody lavender plants into topiaries, although imperfect ones! Here's a complete video playlist so you can see the progress of how I did it and how they look today: th-cam.com/play/PLenOueHl62Ow6VFKWBWk8SFsia39P_sgd.html&si=iWFL1NWC33li5n38 I hope this helps! 💜
@@floraevans2759 You sure can! (And that's what I did in the video I linked to in this comment (that you replied to!) I only kept two of them, and planted new plants next to them. So yes, go for it! (Fall is a great time for planting new perennials too!) 💜
I'm new at this, so can you confirm if I'm understanding correctly some basics behind what you are saying: If unpruned once or twice a year, more of the plant (the green growth) will turn woody/ugly. You should only cut back to the earliest new growth on a stem, and it seems that new growth does not occur on woody parts, only after the woody parts. Therefore as your plant grows woodier, you cannot cut it back any further because if you do, no new growth will not come out and the stem will die. Sounds like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
@@lcglazer Yes, you got this overall video correct. 😀👍 It isn't being stuck, but rather just adding "pruning lavender" to one's list of garden chores to do every year. Lavender looks so bushy, that it is easy to think "why prune it?" which was exactly my own thoughts for many years. A few gardeners have mentioned that their lavender did sprout new growth from the dead, woody parts of their plants. So, as an experiment, I cut one of my plants down into the woody parts. Either the plant will come back next year, or it will die. I decided to sacrifice a plant to see what my own results will be, so stay tuned next Spring! 🌿
That's awesome Joe - so glad you had such a great result! 👍I ended up turning two of my own woody plants into topiaries . . . imperfect topiaries but they bloomed nicely last Summer! I'm glad I kept some of them afterall.
This is a fantastic tutorial on lavender pruning, you’ve got a warm and engaging voice and I love the fact that you’re straight to the point and showed us examples of how to (and not go) prune lavender plants.
Thank you so much for your feedback! I try to make videos like I want to watch: jump right into the topic at hand and show examples whenever possible. 👍💜
Thank you my lavender “bush” large tall blooms more grey than lavender. I’m hopeful good cut down September as last year will bring back color. Will it??
What a beautifully explained tutorial. Thank you so much for this. It explains why we never succeed at growing lavender well at home. I volunteer at a heritage steam railway and have recently taken on the gardening of two 100 feet long platform flower borders. You have helped me tremendously. If I may say, I love your clear diction. Greetings from 🇬🇧.
@@reneejaurequi5808 Hi Renee, yes a good pruning will result in a fresher-looking, healthier plant. And pruning in September gives the plant some time to recover before the Winter dormant season kicks in. (Apologies for my delay in responding to your question.) 💜 Lavender will always look more grey during Winter, but will return to its wonderful color once Spring growth occurs. I hope this helps!
@@christianpetersen1782 Pardon my delay in responding! I'm so glad my video helped you and thanks for your feedback. 👍Those 100 feet long flower borders along the steam railway sound like such a fun project! I hope you enjoy it tremendously and that visitors enjoy your hard work! 😀
Talk about a God-send. We just purchased an undeveloped property with 2 gorgeous lavender plants growing on it. I was not planning to do anything with them, but let them grow on their own. After seeing your TH-cam video, I will make sure to keep up with the pruning in the fall. MANY THANKS!! (P.S. Your TH-cam video appeared without my even searching for it. How great was that?!?!?!)
I'm so glad you found my video. Actually, I'm even more thrilled that it appeared without you searching for it! 😀 I hope you enjoy many years not only with your lavender but also in possibly adding to those plants. I hear "undeveloped property" and I'm thinking of new gardens! 😀
Did anyone click on this video after a day of insanity at work or dealing with life? There is something very calming about such banal video. I don't even have a garden.
😅 Well I'm super glad you found my video, and thank you for leaving a comment! And I totally get it: sometimes you just need something calming after a crazy day! I try to keep all of my videos like this, so you might enjoy some of the other ones too! I hope so! 🌿💜
Im retired. Or was until I decided to do a teaching english as a foreign language course and started a new part time career teaching after school classes for children here in Spain. But because its May 1 no work today. So I have been mostly idle.
I have neither. Life is very serene in the south of France, clicked here because last year my lavender just died out of nowhere. Only one branch survived and no new is growing,
Thanks for all the tips and explanations. There's no substitute for consistent pruning, but if I've been neglecting my pruning chores, my philosophy is to hack it back. My thinking is that if it's so bad that I'm considering replacement, then why not give a plant the chop and see what happens. I did that to my lavender this spring with pretty good results. Of the four plants, only one will need a bit more severe pruning (only on one side) to modify the general shape. BTW, I prune in the spring as the birds seem to enjoy eating the seeds all winter. I even looked it up and found: "Lavender seeds contain antioxidants and essential oils that can help to boost a bird’s immune system and health. In addition, the seeds can provide a birds with a source of essential nutrients."
Ok, I realize that this is an old video now, but I wanted to share that I had a similar thing happen with Rosemary. I cut it all the way to the ground and new growth started! The woody stems were still there at ground level, but new fresh growth sprung up and I was able to save that Rosemary. I never shied away from pruning hard after that. I love your video style-I hope that you’re still making them. I’m going to search your channel now.
Thanks Oliver - that’s a nice way to describe it. 👍 I have another video where I recently kept two of the plants specifically to treat them as what I am calling “modern topiaries” now! 🙂 I’m hoping they will look nice in bloom this Summer.
As a first time homeowner, I planted some lavender because of local deer. Apparently, they don't like lavender. Unfortunately, I made the same mistake as you and did not prune them hardly at all. They looked beautiful for 2 or 3 years, but then the woody stems appeared. They look terrible and I am considering starting over again...the proper way. Your video was definitely helpful and educational. I really appreciate you posting this for us novices. Hopefully, the second go around will be better.
Can not thank you enough. Also a tremendous amount of appreciation for sharing your phenomenal woody lavender and how you are dealing with it. You are a real loving gardener and teacher
I appreciate your feedback and it's my pleasure to help! Yes, that woody lavender was a real eyesore over time, but now I have two pretty topiaries instead, which I shaped from the woody lavender! (There's a separate video on how I did that.)
I bought a 3-pack lavender from Costco and neglected one of them in the backyard and it turned really wild and woody and has to take it out. Didn't know at the time that it needs to be pruned back and only took out the dead flowers. Now I know and pruned back hard on them each year before winter and light pruning during the growth season. Thanks for sharing how to prune.
I came across this video a little late because i just pruned mine this week. I put in fertilizer spikes because my 3 are in pots. Lavender is hard to grow here because i have lots of sun. Fl zone 9b. They are in a sun/shade situation & are doing quite well. I was late in cutting back, but at least i did it. I put cuttings in a galvanized small bucket & left on a table on the sun porch. When i opened the doors to the porch this morning it smelt oh so good from the lavender. So i an going to cut more frequently now & leave the cuttings in my rooms. Also i planted some woody stems with growth at the end and it is still looking nice, hope i can get a new plant out of those cuttings! I will try the lavender Phenomenal as you recommended. I really need a hearty one for here. Thanks so much!
You're very welcome! I'm glad your lavender is doing well in pots. Be careful with the fertilizer spikes. Some spikes will provide too much nitrogen, and then the plants will produce more green and less flowers. Also, lavender prefers things on the lean side, in other words not much fertilizer. However, since you have them in pots this should be ok, since watering pots will leach those nutrients out of the soil over time. As long as the plants are happy -- that is the most important thing! 💜 Enjoy the lavender scent -- it's one of my favorites! And hope your new cuttings result in more plants!
And I bet your Lavender looks nice when it’s in bloom John! Mine did too, as you saw. 🙂 Hopefully the second time around is much better…for yours and for mine! 🌿
The one thing you didn’t state was that you could dry out all the clippings and use them for either lavender bags or for making tea with ! It’s very good for calming the mind and sending you off to a peaceful sleep ! Also, I now know why I have leggy, woody Lavender- because I never prune them !
You're right, I kept the video just about pruning. I do have an article on my website about harvesting lavender - as I do it the easy way, by drying my flowers right on the plants. I have a variety that has a lot of strong oil in it (Lavender Phenomenal), so I'm fortunate it keeps its scent for years. Here's the article: www.petscribbles.com/how-to-harvest-lavender-the-easy-way/
Oh my!! This is SO helpful!! Thank you very much!! I can now save my lavender plant just in time. Love the way you describe and show each step so clearly. Thank you!!!! 😊
excellent video- when I bought my home 8 years ago, I killed many lavender plants attempting to prune them- as I was too aggressive cutting them back when they had developed a thick woody base. However, one plant was very gradually was able to tame it over many years and selective pruning. 100% agree with you regarding lavender phenomenal- this is what I used to replace the plants I killed. I prune twice a year- a slight prune in early spring and then again in mid summer. They've remained beautiful compact features in my garden and produce stunning amounts of blooms! Another great and helpful video! Thank you!
in terms of your old plants- it would likely take you years to tame them back to a reasonable shape and size- i'm thinking if your goal is to have night tight plants, you'll need to remove them and start over. I'm not sure if you've played around with catmint- but it's perhaps one of my favorite plants and much more forgiving lol ....and the rabbits leave mine alone!
I'm so glad to meet someone who grows Lavender Phenomenal, as it truly is an amazing lavender! It can be so tempting to want to cut well into that woody base, and I think that's the mistake gardeners make accidentally, as we're conditioned to cut back into the wood of so many other plants! Do you get two flushes of bloom with your pruning schedule? 💜
@@MD062010 I agree with you about starting over! And I recently posted a video here on my channel showing me removing them! I kept two of the plants and turned them into my own versions of "modern" topiaries! I'm still deciding what to plant there. I may put one Phenomenal plant in front of each topiary, just to provide a difference in height. As for catmint -- unfortunately the variety I planted previously didn't love me back at all and I had to remove all of it. (I have a video about that too on here.) So I'm a bit shy about trying it again -- however I do know that I will add a different catmint variety in the future...just have to work up to it after such a disappointment! 🌿🙂
@@totallydomestic433 Yes, this plant is still under patent, which I believe is why you can't find seeds to grow. 😥 There are several places online that offer plants that might be smaller and less expensive than what you may be seeing in your area. 🙏 And in some cases, while you might end up paying a bit more ordering online -- with shipping and sometimes the cost of a smaller size plant -- these plants grow nicely and will "catch up" to their much larger versions within two years. 🌱💜
Before taking them all out and restarting with new plants, do try a hard pruning in spring. I cut back 30 lavendar plans that grew too big like yours with lots of wood at the base. they were approx 50cm in height. I now cut them all back to 15-20 cm in height and all got new green growth on them. Worth the try!
You’re giving me some hope: I also have 2 huge, straggly lavenders. But I know the chance that they’re growing back from wood is like playing roulette, and I know I’ll miss my “woodies” if I cut them back radically 😕
I have done the same, especially after my lavender winter killed a few years ago. Most of the green tops froze to death, but there were a few little green dots on some of the woody stems, so I just hacked away. Year 1 was a bit lame, but there was full recovery.
That "horrible" woody one has some amazing flowering habits :) And it looks so wild, I'd definitely keep it, especially at the base of those big evergreens, it fits perfectly !
Thanks Raluca! Yes, I think I’ll keep “some” of the lavender, maybe the ones that look most like topiary. They do look pretty in bloom, but those thick dead stems look like driftwood! 🙂
@@GardenSanity Driftwood looks great too :) I know the "norm" is juicy, fresh-looking gardens, but I really like the woody, gnarly ones ...it is almost if you have a piece of a mediterranian island on your front doorstep. (minus the incidental sheep or goat of course) If that is not the look you want, I completely understand, but they really have a charm of their own.
@@muurrarium9460 I agree. Another idea is to add some big, interesting landscape rocks around the base. That could both blend with and distract from the gnarly wood.
@@muurrarium9460 You are right, as are so many other gardeners who weighed in... and now I wish I would have at least kept the large woody pieces to keep in the garden, even if they were removed from the ground. However, I did keep a few of them -- and I did two more videos showing what I did: keeping them as lavender topiaries. And one of them has this lovely twisting upright stem that almost looks like a ribbon! Hope you can watch them and see what I'm describing! Thanks so much for your thoughts! 💜
@@GardenSanity Do not worry about other peoples opinions too much :) I am a terrible gardener myself, but think you are doing a wonderful job. Personal tastes differ, vary and change. Thank you for teaching me the right way to prune back these beauties :) My single lavender is already looking 500 times better for it. (I want to have a complete field of them, but my neighbour hates them with a passion, so I compromise ... well at least this year ;P I plan on sowing a batch of them / just do not tell her!! ;D)
Thank you SO much for this excellent information. I have first year Lavender plants an will use every part of your great educational information… You are greatly appreciated. 💕❤️👍
You can take cuttings from the existing woody plants and root them as new plants. Once they are ready for planting, just replace the woody plants with them. They will also look more uniform if you take them from one plant since they will have the same genetics.
Exactly right! 👍 In fact I just talked about this (and why I'm not doing this right now) in my recent video about these woody lavender plants. I have a few additional lavender plants (all the same Phenomenal variety) and am unsure if I want to replace these woody plants with more lavender or not. So if I decide I need more plants, I'll definitely take some cuttings. Thanks for mentioning it! 😁
I have a lavender border that was smashed during a tree removal, and am currently taking stem cuttings from the damaged woody survivors. So far, 62 cuttings with a 100% success rate.
Hello, Inger from Yorkshire , England here It was so lovely coming across your tutorial about pruning/ caring for lavender. I have always grown it in my garden, the most popular here is French lavender. Sadly, I do lose a plant each winter, so I'm always planting fresh lavender in the summer.I have made the mistake of mot cutting back hard enough or soon enough, I blink my eyes , and there it is- the wood!.Iaonly jerp my garden for my own pleasure, not professional in any way, but my garden repays me for the tlc I show it.Well, I just wanted to say that sitting here in my garden on this beautiful sunny, hot day, watching your tips made me feel like I had a friend with me, I felt so relaxed. Take care, thank you so much, Inger Romantico
Hello Inger -- and pardon my delay in replying to you! Gardening for our own pleasure is the BEST way to garden, in my opinion. 👍 I truly believe we should always plant what we want to plant and not what others tell us we "should" plant -- unless of course it is well-meaning advice such as rabbit-resistant plants...which I'm almost obsessed about. 😂 Luckily my lavender comes back, but I have done similar when a plant doesn't make it: if I love that plant, I'll try it again! Thank you so much for saying you feel like I'm chatting with you in your own garden, as that's the feeling I always hope gardeners have when watching my videos. I really appreciate you taking the time to share this! ❤🏵😊
You are a really, really good teacher. Excellent video. I am in zone 5, eastern Wisconsin. Here at my new senior living community I am growing lavender. I loosely cover my lavender with straw. We can get some extreme cold, -35 or so. Thank you for the instructions on 'woody' lavender plants and how to keep your lavender from getting 'woody'. Take care and healthy.
Thanks for your feedback! 😊 Wow you get some extreme cold temperatures during Winter! I hope your lavender stayed warm and looks beautiful this Summer! 💜
Agree, the texture and structure of older branches can add a great deal of visual interest. Cleaning out and selecting which branches to keep is pretty labor intensive, but rewarding if you have the skill and compulsion to do the work. It's likely that some of the branch formations you like most are dead or dying, which can be kind of disappointing, (some types of juniper tend to have more durable small old branches and will give you great pruning options).The method of pruning younger stems and foliage in the video is spot on and certainly applies if you prune to expose older gnarled branches.
Thanks Laura, I agree that the wood does have a unique look to it! I have two more videos (since this one) that provide updates for you. In one I decided to make my own version of lavender topiaries with some of those woody lavenders, and in the other video I show what they look like two months later. You can find them here on my channel by searching for "woody lavender!" 💜
@@bakeone4406 Thanks for your feedback, Bake One! 👍 I ended up removing all of that woody gnarled mess, although it was bittersweet. However, I did keep two of the plants and trimmed them into my version of lavender topiaries! One one of them, the wood twists upward almost like a ribbon. You can see the updates if interested if you search for "woody lavender" here on my channel! Hope you like them! (And you're right -- it IS labor intensive!) 🤣
Thank you so much for giving us valuable information on trimming, and fertilizer for lavender. I worked at a garden center and planted some lavender that did well for a year and then did not survive after pruning in early Spring. I have a Phenomenal lavender plant I pruned just recently that has new growth now. This video is amazing and I am thankful that you showed us what to avoid with the woody lavender. Your how-to ideas are wonderful and I enjoyed the trimming ideas as well. Thank you so much. The in-depth details are so helpful!!!!
You're welcome Laura! I'm glad to know the video has been helpful -- and I hope everyone learns from my own mistakes too to avoid the woody lavender! 😀
Thank you so much for this. I help maintain my parents' garden in the UK and they have a lot of lavender plants - this was super-helpful, clear to understand, and vert engaging.
Glad you enjoyed the video Barbara! That's interesting comparing them to high desert plants - I should have just gone with that explanation. It would have been easier! 😀💜
Thank you very much for this video. . Lavender is one of my favourite plants and now you have explained about dead wood I can see where I've been going wrong. .many thanks
@@barbarasams8745 Hi Barbara - huge apologies as I didn't see this comment sooner. Not sure what you decided to do, if anything, but you could dig up the lavender and divide it into smaller plants, removing the dead section. I hope this helps! 💜
I planted 16 English Lavender plants in a row along my patio where they get full sun and are a joy to see. They're always a big hit with the bumblebees when in bloom. I leave them alone all year so the seed is available for birds through the winter, and then prune them once to 3 inches tall in early spring.
Oh I bet it smells AND looks wonderful, with the bees enjoying the flowers! And yes it's always nice to leave the seeds for the birds. 👍 Since mine remain evergreen (or ever-gray) I like to trim them up in the Fall for Winter interest -- and so many seeds fall down in the process, the ground is covered by birds for awhile! Thanks for sharing! 💜
You’re welcome, and hopefully gardeners can learn from my mistakes! (Although I might decide to pretend some of them are topiary plants and leave them almost as is!)
Great video! I was hoping the story would have had a happy ending with you showing how you were able to fix the woody lavender as I’m in the same boat. I can’t bear killing it. 😢 I gave my plant quite the haircut this spring so I’ll see how that worked out. And I got 2 new baby phenomenal varieties, I’m going to try and take a cutting from them also. You can never have too much!
I agree that you can never have too much lavender, Karen! 👍And there IS a happy ending: I have two videos I filmed where I give updates on what I ended up doing with the woody lavender! In the first, I show you what I did (I'll keep it a surprise for you) and in the second, I provide an update two months later. You can find them here on my channel by searching my videos for woody lavender! I hope you enjoy them and that maybe they give you some ideas! 💜
You made it simple and clear Cutting after making sure you are keeping 2-3 inches of nice green leaves growing on a nice green stem above a woody stem use the pruner and cut . If you want a dome shape cut above 1 inch of green leaves on a green stem above the woody stem from the surrounding of the bush outside of the dome and keep the centre 2-3 inches high and cut
I also am conducting a failed topiary looking project with my lavender and appreciate this video quite a bit! Thank you and I echo the comments enjoying your warm, direct style.
Hi Leah - hope your topiary project worked? I ended up turning 2 of mine into topiaries. I'm calling them my "imperfect woody topiaries" which I think explains it nicely! 💜 Thanks for your feedback too!
Thank you so much for this video! With temperatures warming and snow melting here in upstate NY, my garden - especially the early spring tasks such as lavender pruning- has been on my mind. I was confused/misguided on their care last season, but have a few younger plants that I intend to treat right. You very simply and thoroughly explained this aspect of gardening and I am much more optimistic now. You get an A for effort in trying to remedy and experiment with the woody nightmare, (they're still so beautiful!) so I wish you the best in replacing them. Hoping for an update video. Subscribed❤
Glad the video helped! 👍 I’m definitely getting ready to “fix” that woody nightmare soon, so stay tuned! 🎬 My plan is to remove what I want to remove while hopefully keeping at least one plant on each side of the front entrance looking like modern topiary. Modern = oddly shaped! 😂 Then I’ll decide what’s next. 😀🤞
Hi from the Uk 🇬🇧 Well I now know I've been pruning my lavender wrong for years! I only ever trim the flower stems back. I thought Lavender just became naturally woody over time. Great video X
Hello from across the pond! In a sense, what you were doing was harvesting the lavender without realizing it -- and that's what I used to do too. Thus, I ended up with my driftwood-looking woody lavender. However, I still think it is beautiful -- especially in bloom! 💜
Thanks so much for your feedback! Yes, I had to show the woody lavender, especially as so many of us have experienced some degree of “woodyness”! 🙂 Glad you liked the different ways to round the plant too. 💜
You can also dig them out, make a deeper hole and plant them back in all the way up to the green base. Woody parts will be in the hole covered by soil.
@@GardenSanity sort of. I have experimented last year with a couple of mine. But it is a huge undertaking. I have pruned them back to the last couple of green stems, dig them up and plant them deep in up to the green stems. Theoretically new growth should appear from below, but new growth will happen on the old wooden parts left as well. I can see it happening but it is a very slow process though. Need to see how it goes with the patience. Too bad I can’t show you a picture of it here.
@@GardenSanity actually very well. They definitely need to be dug very deep in, so to cover all “wooden” parts. But I am not sure it is worth all the bother. Maybe the simplest way is to plant a new one. 😊🌸
I hacked most of my overgrown lavender out some years ago because it had become large and unsightly. I never knew it could be pruned! Seems like with Irish roots this knowledge should be innate but it must have skipped my generation. 😃I have a small plant left that I will now try to manage properly. Thank you!
Hi Joan - thanks for the wonderful laugh re: your Irish knowledge about lavender skipping a generation! 😂The good news is your current lavender plant is in great gardening hands!
Hi Susan -- I hope your new plants are doing well! If interested, you can see what I decided to do with my own woody lavender in the Spring this year. I removed most but did keep two that I turned into my own version of lavender topiaries! If you search for "woody lavender" here on my channel, you should find those videos. (However, I hope you don't have to deal with woody lavender ever again!) 💜
@@GardenSanityI didn’t know how much I needed this great video until I saw it - thanks! I planted a bunch of new plants last year so hopefully it’s not too late to keep them in shape. But what happens with those woody plants if you cut them deeply into the woody stem? Does it kill the plant?
@monicarolnickelson3492 Glad the video was helpful Monica! 😀 If you cut too far into the woody stems (and remove all of the live green/grey leaves in the process), most likely you won’t get any new growth on what remains of that woody stem.
Thank you for the experience. Actually i think it’s depend of the personal taste. For me it’s a natural beauty when lavender is growing big wood and developing as it would develop itself in the nature. But it’s of course depends of the personal vision of the garden and it’s size.
Thanks for your feedback Anna! You are one of several gardeners that has helped me look at that woody lavender with new eyes! I admit I was just seeing how awful it looked every Winter season. I ended up keeping two of the lavenders and turned them into my own version of lavender topiaries, so I get to enjoy the woody-ness and some flowers too. You can see them in my recent video -- and one of them even has a woody base that turns almost like a ribbon. It's really neat to see! 💜
You're doing a great job, thanks for the video. I made the same mistake with my first lavender plant. This year I bought two more, I am excited to plant them in the ground and I will follow your steps.🙂
Love your no-nonsense smart tutorial -very sensical down to earth explanations. Have Russian lavender -think they need a wide berth. Had let them get away with big woody stems.
I am starting a new garden from scratch in 40cm of top soil. I have been given 3 lavenders that look like they have never had a prune about 2 years old. I am going to thin out the long undergrowth and prune and plant as you have said. I will post some photos
@@GardenSanity it is coming into the start of Winter on 1st June in Melbourne. They look scary! But seem to be starting to sprout new growth. I'll be patient and wait 3 months. Princess Pink Lavender.
@@Photo-ops_OnPeninsula Oooh, Princess Pink Lavender is so pretty! And it needs little water, so the common mistake everyone makes -- including me with lavender sometimes -- it watering too much. In the Spring, give it some good fertilizer around each plant worked into the soil, and water when the weather doesn't have rain forecasted for many days. And yes -- patience is not what we gardeners thrive on at all, am I right? 😂
@@GardenSanityok well here we are more than 3 mths later... Here are the photos as promised... The first two took a while but WOW look at them now... The third one didn't make it... it tried. The only difference was no. 3 was on the side of the house that only got morning sun...
As a professional landscape gardener. I always pruned my customers lavender at mid bloom. The wives loved it when they received a large sack of dried lavender flowers to enjoy all winter. I would use my secateurs to remove the flower stocks then hedge shears to shape the plant. If I waited until fall the lavender would seed the beds with more lavender plants and the garden became more cluttered. If you want more lavender plants they are easily propagated from softwood cuttings.
Thank you for showing us how to prune Lavender! I just planted three plants and I usually don't like to prune plants because I would probably hurt or kill the plants but in this case it's a good thing to cut it back!
I'm with you Karen: sometimes it feels like it's not fair to the new plants to cut them back just a few months later. However, like you said: it's a good thing! 💜
That's a wonderful way to think about it - it makes the entire pruning process enjoyable! There's nothing quite like the scent of lavender, and when it's from lavender you've grown yourself - well, that's the best! 💜
Hello there, thank you so much for your video. I have looked at many on how to prune lavender. Yours has been the most informative and easy to follow. I'm in Australia, so now we are coming into the last month of summer. I will prune in March probably. We don't get a lot of frost where I live. Thank you also for showing me your woody lavender. I may have a rosemary and daisy bush that look very similar!! 🙄😂 I look firward to watching more of your videos. Cheers 🌿🌸
Thanks for your feedback Michelle -- I really appreciate it! Yes I think pruning in March should be fine for your lavender. 👍 And I had to show the "truth" about just how overgrown and woody some of my lavender has become, so I'm glad I'm not alone in having plants like this! 😃 I'm still not sure if I'll rip some of them out but keep a few that are sort of looking like topiaries. I still have awhile to think about it. Enjoy the rest of your Summer! 🌞🍃🌸
Glad you enjoyed the video, and I totally understand being done with lavender. That was my intent also, until I ended up saving a couple of the plants and turning them into imperfect topiaries! 😄
I planted lavender last year and they grew like a bee swarm leaving the nest. I just whacked back the dried flowers and then came across your info - I will be getting back at it. Thanks!
In a previous house where I lived there was a long, low hedge of lavender running along the boundary between our garden and the neighbour's, they had planted it and it grew really well, in full sun and a well drained soil. Our neighbour shocked me the first time I saw him pruning the lavender hard in early spring, with a hedge trimmer! It seemed so harsh and drastic and cut the plant really short, I thought it might seriously damage the plants! However every summer those plants had grown over 2ft tall with wonderful scented flowers and buzzing with bees, so beautiful, and they grew really large and thrived like that for years -I have remembered that pruning lesson ever since!
Thanks for your feedback Audrey! 💜 I just shared a video recently of me finally tackling these woody plants. I actually kept one on each side and turned them into what I call a "modern" topiaries! Maybe that will inspire you! (By the way, it felt great to finally remove them and not have to keep staring at them!) 🙂
so depressing and so helpful! I din't trim my lavender bush for almost ten years and I was planing to recover it. The last minutes of the post were a eye opening, thanks for saving my time :D
I planted my lavender path (25 plants) in 2004. And followed similar instructions to these provided by an old gardener ever since. No woody stems and a path that's regularly admired by visitors!
Wow! Your lavender path sounds like it is not only beautiful but must also have the best scent too! 💜 I appreciate your sharing that "an old gardener" and I have similar advice on pruning! Thank you!
This is so helpful! I have a lavender plant that I put in the ground a year ago and left alone “to let it to get established.” But now I can’t wait for fall to prune it back.
Glad this was helpful Doug! You did the right thing letting the lavender get established its first year. I hope you get some nice flowers this Summer -- and of course enjoy the pruning process in the Fall!
My beautiful lavender plants are just like your old woody plants now (after 3 years)! I didn't prune them enough, and they are going to be pulled out and replaced. Sad! I'm really glad I came upon your video today. I live in Zone 7a and will plant new lavender the first week of May. Thanks for sharing your lavender care experience!
You're welcome! I'm glad you're starting fresh with new plants! 👍I ended up removing most of mine -- I did a video about it here on the channel. After turning two of them into "topiaries" I also added 2 newer lavender plants from the backyard into those spots. Hopefully these will do much better with me paying more attention this time around! 🙂
Such a professionally edited and filmed video! And I learned something new - have two lavender bushes, they smell amazing every time you touch or water them.
I live in the PNW and just recently pruned my (very woody!!) lavender plants, thinking they would return to the once beautiful plants they were when I originally purchased them. I am so glad I came across your video, as I must sadly admit that my plants are past the point of no return and I should replace them. I tend to be timid about pruning anything in my garden, and lavender in particular made me nervous because of conflicting information I had received about pruning; going forward, I won't be so hesitant. Thank you so much for your very informative video!
Although I'm sorry your plants couldn't be saved, I'm glad that my video helped for the future! And yes, I think we all are timid when first pruning a plant that's new to us. I know that I am. But once you go for it, it's amazing what a confidence builder it becomes -- especially when the plants respond nicely! 🙂
I pruned back my lavender in the spring. I did this to keep it small as it was crowding out my other plants in my perennial garden. Besides, I love the smell of lavender so pruning is enjoyable just for the smell.
Actually you should let some of the woody stems grow. In years, they have a look like a bonsai tree. You can shape them as you want, and they can bring a different style to your garden or entrance. Lavenders are quite beneficial since they repel some certain pests 👍
Great minds think alike, Hakan! 👍 I did end up turning two of them into topiaries and if you search for "woody lavender" here on my channel, you can see those videos. And yes -- I definitely adore lavender for both the amount of bees that cover the plants all Summer long as well as the mosquitoes that lavender repels too! Thanks so much! 😃
Thanks for sharing these tips. I live in the eastern part of the Columbia River Gorge in WA State. I didn't prune my lavendar in time last fall, so I did it this spring. What a relief to hear that it's okay to prune in the spring. One of mine is pretty woody too. It's not as cute as it's sibling next to it, lol! I'll probably keep it, though, since it is still producing flowers.
I had one lavender plant in a pot and all the torrents of rain we had this year rotted the roots . I hate having to replace it because it was very big and woody. I had pruned to far back as well. Your video helped me tremendously. I will be replacing my plant and it's going in the ground in my lean soil. It's sad to realize you are your plants problem. Lol
You made me laugh out loud Catherine, because yes -- we can indeed be the problem sometimes with our plants! 🤣I know I've been responsible for quite a few garden disasters over the years. But, we learn from our mistakes. Hope your new plants give you years of lovely lavender flowers! 💜
I'm VERY familiar with Woody Lavender!😮 I have a couple now and have had to get rid of some over the years. BUT, last year I bought a new plant and will coddle it, starting this Spring! I'll try trimming the others also, they are producing .. I'm in Zone 6-ish I think, suburbs of Paris.
So you can appreciate my pain with this Woody Lavender! 😀 Makes me feel better, reminding me that it happens and not to be too hard on myself for letting it get this way. 👍 And yes, I’m coddling my newer plants too! It’s almost a challenge to see if I can keep them from turning into wood. 🌿💜
Yes, great vid, tutorial,commentary. Loved how you showed us your journey thru good and bad. I love lavender but have always struggled with it in the Arizona heat. I've learned the best places and water amounts for my lavender to survive without getting fried but thought the woodiness was heat-related. Any way, I'm working with two batches from last year that I didn't prune so now, I'll be pruning! Thank you!
I'm glad I could help so many fellow gardeners by showing my ups and downs with this plant! I hope your lavender is much happier after being pruned this Spring, and I hope you are currently staying cool in the Summer heat! 💜
I’m in Canada, it’s already frost at night, late October and my lavender flowers are still growing and still purple!!! Such an amazing plant!! I’ll harvest it all this year, my closets will smell so good LOL
EXCELLENT video. Thank you. I think I've waited too long for a fall prune so will try in the spring. My old lavender has gone woody and will be replaced. Again, this video was very informative for the average gardener. Great visuals and presentation.
Thanks so much for your feedback Jan -- I really appreciate it! 😊 Pruning in Spring will be just fine! If you watched my "woody lavender topiary" videos, you saw that I ended up removing some of my woody lavender too, and planted some new ones to start fresh. The two plants that I turned into topiaries are doing well, even with their woody trunks! 😄
I wish I had done what you did because my phenomenal lavenders don't look so phenomenal. They are very woody. I think I'll probably give up the ones that I have and find when's the best time to get and plant new ones for zone 5.
Alright! I heard that! My Phenomenals are probably 2 years old and got a bit out of hand this summer. This video was so helpful and I had already read how they like very sandy compost and even red rock pebble instead of mulch and they will get it so I can look forward to seeing them again in spring.
@@marthakratz7877 Hi Martha, your best bet is to wait until Spring to purchase and plant lavender in Zone 5. This way, the plant will have a long season getting established to then have wonderful success in making it through the following dormant Winter season. 👍
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Hi everyone -- I turned my woody lavender plants into topiaries, although imperfect ones! Here's a complete video playlist so you can see the progress of how I did it and how they look today: th-cam.com/play/PLenOueHl62Ow6VFKWBWk8SFsia39P_sgd.html&si=iWFL1NWC33li5n38 I hope this helps! 💜
Aug 3/24 can i just pull out the old woody ones? I like the lavender, but I’ve never printed them, but I’d like to start and get a nicer crop.
@@floraevans2759 You sure can! (And that's what I did in the video I linked to in this comment (that you replied to!) I only kept two of them, and planted new plants next to them. So yes, go for it! (Fall is a great time for planting new perennials too!) 💜
I'm new at this, so can you confirm if I'm understanding correctly some basics behind what you are saying:
If unpruned once or twice a year, more of the plant (the green growth) will turn woody/ugly.
You should only cut back to the earliest new growth on a stem, and it seems that new growth does not occur on woody parts, only after the woody parts.
Therefore as your plant grows woodier, you cannot cut it back any further because if you do, no new growth will not come out and the stem will die.
Sounds like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
@@lcglazer Yes, you got this overall video correct. 😀👍 It isn't being stuck, but rather just adding "pruning lavender" to one's list of garden chores to do every year. Lavender looks so bushy, that it is easy to think "why prune it?" which was exactly my own thoughts for many years. A few gardeners have mentioned that their lavender did sprout new growth from the dead, woody parts of their plants. So, as an experiment, I cut one of my plants down into the woody parts. Either the plant will come back next year, or it will die. I decided to sacrifice a plant to see what my own results will be, so stay tuned next Spring! 🌿
Thank you so much for this clear and informative video. I've always been too scared to prune lavender because i didn't know what i was doing.
I had some very overgrown woody plants. As an experiment, this past spring I cut them back almost to the ground and they re-few nicely.
That's awesome Joe - so glad you had such a great result! 👍I ended up turning two of my own woody plants into topiaries . . . imperfect topiaries but they bloomed nicely last Summer! I'm glad I kept some of them afterall.
What variety were they? I have a 12 year old Hidcote and a 7 year old Phenomenal and they still sprout new growth on the Woody stems.
This is a fantastic tutorial on lavender pruning, you’ve got a warm and engaging voice and I love the fact that you’re straight to the point and showed us examples of how to (and not go) prune lavender plants.
Thank you so much for your feedback! I try to make videos like I want to watch: jump right into the topic at hand and show examples whenever possible. 👍💜
Thank you my lavender “bush” large tall blooms more grey than lavender. I’m hopeful good cut down September as last year will bring back color. Will it??
What a beautifully explained tutorial. Thank you so much for this. It explains why we never succeed at growing lavender well at home. I volunteer at a heritage steam railway and have recently taken on the gardening of two 100 feet long platform flower borders. You have helped me tremendously. If I may say, I love your clear diction. Greetings from 🇬🇧.
@@reneejaurequi5808 Hi Renee, yes a good pruning will result in a fresher-looking, healthier plant. And pruning in September gives the plant some time to recover before the Winter dormant season kicks in. (Apologies for my delay in responding to your question.) 💜 Lavender will always look more grey during Winter, but will return to its wonderful color once Spring growth occurs. I hope this helps!
@@christianpetersen1782 Pardon my delay in responding! I'm so glad my video helped you and thanks for your feedback. 👍Those 100 feet long flower borders along the steam railway sound like such a fun project! I hope you enjoy it tremendously and that visitors enjoy your hard work! 😀
Talk about a God-send. We just purchased an undeveloped property with 2 gorgeous lavender plants growing on it. I was not planning to do anything with them, but let them grow on their own. After seeing your TH-cam video, I will make sure to keep up with the pruning in the fall. MANY THANKS!! (P.S. Your TH-cam video appeared without my even searching for it. How great was that?!?!?!)
I'm so glad you found my video. Actually, I'm even more thrilled that it appeared without you searching for it! 😀 I hope you enjoy many years not only with your lavender but also in possibly adding to those plants. I hear "undeveloped property" and I'm thinking of new gardens! 😀
Did anyone click on this video after a day of insanity at work or dealing with life? There is something very calming about such banal video. I don't even have a garden.
😅 Well I'm super glad you found my video, and thank you for leaving a comment! And I totally get it: sometimes you just need something calming after a crazy day! I try to keep all of my videos like this, so you might enjoy some of the other ones too! I hope so! 🌿💜
Im retired. Or was until I decided to do a teaching english as a foreign language course and started a new part time career teaching after school classes for children here in Spain.
But because its May 1 no work today. So I have been mostly idle.
Dealing with personal insanity every day. Your tutoring may be the therapy l need overcoming my so-called "insanity".
I have neither. Life is very serene in the south of France, clicked here because last year my lavender just died out of nowhere. Only one branch survived and no new is growing,
Yes
Thanks for all the tips and explanations. There's no substitute for consistent pruning, but if I've been neglecting my pruning chores, my philosophy is to hack it back. My thinking is that if it's so bad that I'm considering replacement, then why not give a plant the chop and see what happens. I did that to my lavender this spring with pretty good results. Of the four plants, only one will need a bit more severe pruning (only on one side) to modify the general shape.
BTW, I prune in the spring as the birds seem to enjoy eating the seeds all winter. I even looked it up and found: "Lavender seeds contain antioxidants and essential oils that can help to boost a bird’s immune system and health. In addition, the seeds can provide a birds with a source of essential nutrients."
Ok, I realize that this is an old video now, but I wanted to share that I had a similar thing happen with Rosemary. I cut it all the way to the ground and new growth started! The woody stems were still there at ground level, but new fresh growth sprung up and I was able to save that Rosemary. I never shied away from pruning hard after that.
I love your video style-I hope that you’re still making them. I’m going to search your channel now.
I think the woody lavender has a kind of charm to it, like a bonsai tree leaning over.
Thanks Oliver - that’s a nice way to describe it. 👍 I have another video where I recently kept two of the plants specifically to treat them as what I am calling “modern topiaries” now! 🙂 I’m hoping they will look nice in bloom this Summer.
I like their otherzonely charm. I think that by filling in the woody areas with straw, it could look lavish.
Thanks for that. Makes me feel better.
That’s a nice idea!
As a first time homeowner, I planted some lavender because of local deer. Apparently, they don't like lavender. Unfortunately, I made the same mistake as you and did not prune them hardly at all. They looked beautiful for 2 or 3 years, but then the woody stems appeared. They look terrible and I am considering starting over again...the proper way. Your video was definitely helpful and educational. I really appreciate you posting this for us novices. Hopefully, the second go around will be better.
Can not thank you enough. Also a tremendous amount of appreciation for sharing your phenomenal woody lavender and how you are dealing with it. You are a real loving gardener and teacher
I appreciate your feedback and it's my pleasure to help! Yes, that woody lavender was a real eyesore over time, but now I have two pretty topiaries instead, which I shaped from the woody lavender! (There's a separate video on how I did that.)
I bought a 3-pack lavender from Costco and neglected one of them in the backyard and it turned really wild and woody and has to take it out. Didn't know at the time that it needs to be pruned back and only took out the dead flowers. Now I know and pruned back hard on them each year before winter and light pruning during the growth season. Thanks for sharing how to prune.
You're welcome and glad to hear my video helped! I wish you many years of lovely lavender in your garden!
Great video. As an inexperienced gardener, I truly appreciate the very clear and easy to understand instructions. Thank you.
I came across this video a little late because i just pruned mine this week. I put in fertilizer spikes because my 3 are in pots.
Lavender is hard to grow here because i have lots of sun. Fl zone 9b. They are in a sun/shade situation & are doing quite well.
I was late in cutting back, but at least i did it. I put cuttings in a galvanized small bucket & left on a table on the sun porch.
When i opened the doors to the porch this morning it smelt oh so good from the lavender. So i an going to cut more frequently now & leave the cuttings in my rooms.
Also i planted some woody stems with growth at the end and it is still looking nice, hope i can get a new plant out of those cuttings!
I will try the lavender Phenomenal as you recommended. I really need a hearty one for here. Thanks so much!
You're very welcome! I'm glad your lavender is doing well in pots. Be careful with the fertilizer spikes. Some spikes will provide too much nitrogen, and then the plants will produce more green and less flowers. Also, lavender prefers things on the lean side, in other words not much fertilizer. However, since you have them in pots this should be ok, since watering pots will leach those nutrients out of the soil over time. As long as the plants are happy -- that is the most important thing! 💜 Enjoy the lavender scent -- it's one of my favorites! And hope your new cuttings result in more plants!
I did not know you had to prune lavender every year and now I have woody plants. I think I will try again and prune each year. Very nice video.
And I bet your Lavender looks nice when it’s in bloom John! Mine did too, as you saw. 🙂 Hopefully the second time around is much better…for yours and for mine! 🌿
Thank you. This is one of the best informative video on plants I have ever seen . Worth subscribing. All the best.
My pleasure Sangita! And I appreciate your feedback very much. Thanks for subscribing! 💜
The one thing you didn’t state was that you could dry out all the clippings and use them for either lavender bags or for making tea with ! It’s very good for calming the mind and sending you off to a peaceful sleep !
Also, I now know why I have leggy, woody Lavender- because I never prune them !
I love Lavender & used it a lot when I was a Reflexologist, it helped so many clients. ❤❤
You're right, I kept the video just about pruning. I do have an article on my website about harvesting lavender - as I do it the easy way, by drying my flowers right on the plants. I have a variety that has a lot of strong oil in it (Lavender Phenomenal), so I'm fortunate it keeps its scent for years. Here's the article: www.petscribbles.com/how-to-harvest-lavender-the-easy-way/
@@alizon883 It truly does help! The scent is so calming and very unique. I love it it too.
Oh my!! This is SO helpful!! Thank you very much!! I can now save my lavender plant just in time. Love the way you describe and show each step so clearly. Thank you!!!! 😊
excellent video- when I bought my home 8 years ago, I killed many lavender plants attempting to prune them- as I was too aggressive cutting them back when they had developed a thick woody base. However, one plant was very gradually was able to tame it over many years and selective pruning. 100% agree with you regarding lavender phenomenal- this is what I used to replace the plants I killed. I prune twice a year- a slight prune in early spring and then again in mid summer. They've remained beautiful compact features in my garden and produce stunning amounts of blooms! Another great and helpful video! Thank you!
in terms of your old plants- it would likely take you years to tame them back to a reasonable shape and size- i'm thinking if your goal is to have night tight plants, you'll need to remove them and start over. I'm not sure if you've played around with catmint- but it's perhaps one of my favorite plants and much more forgiving lol ....and the rabbits leave mine alone!
I'm so glad to meet someone who grows Lavender Phenomenal, as it truly is an amazing lavender! It can be so tempting to want to cut well into that woody base, and I think that's the mistake gardeners make accidentally, as we're conditioned to cut back into the wood of so many other plants! Do you get two flushes of bloom with your pruning schedule? 💜
@@MD062010 I agree with you about starting over! And I recently posted a video here on my channel showing me removing them! I kept two of the plants and turned them into my own versions of "modern" topiaries! I'm still deciding what to plant there. I may put one Phenomenal plant in front of each topiary, just to provide a difference in height. As for catmint -- unfortunately the variety I planted previously didn't love me back at all and I had to remove all of it. (I have a video about that too on here.) So I'm a bit shy about trying it again -- however I do know that I will add a different catmint variety in the future...just have to work up to it after such a disappointment! 🌿🙂
@@GardenSanity
I can’t find it in seeds anywhere, just pricy plants.
@@totallydomestic433 Yes, this plant is still under patent, which I believe is why you can't find seeds to grow. 😥 There are several places online that offer plants that might be smaller and less expensive than what you may be seeing in your area. 🙏 And in some cases, while you might end up paying a bit more ordering online -- with shipping and sometimes the cost of a smaller size plant -- these plants grow nicely and will "catch up" to their much larger versions within two years. 🌱💜
one of the best gardening tutorials I have seen, and I've seen quite a few!
Why thank you so much! I really appreciate it! 💜
Before taking them all out and restarting with new plants, do try a hard pruning in spring. I cut back 30 lavendar plans that grew too big like yours with lots of wood at the base. they were approx 50cm in height. I now cut them all back to 15-20 cm in height and all got new green growth on them. Worth the try!
You’re giving me some hope: I also have 2 huge, straggly lavenders. But I know the chance that they’re growing back from wood is like playing roulette, and I know I’ll miss my “woodies” if I cut them back radically 😕
I have done the same, especially after my lavender winter killed a few years ago. Most of the green tops froze to death, but there were a few little green dots on some of the woody stems, so I just hacked away. Year 1 was a bit lame, but there was full recovery.
Omg...I just planted 5 phenomenal lavender plants and will ensure they do not get woody. Thank you!
You're welcome Holly! Enjoy your Phenomenal plants!
Your video came up when I Googled "pruning lavendar." Wow. Excellent video. You sound very professional. Thanks for all the info.😊
My pleasure Katya, and I appreciate your feedback! Happy pruning! 💜
That "horrible" woody one has some amazing flowering habits :) And it looks so wild, I'd definitely keep it, especially at the base of those big evergreens, it fits perfectly !
Thanks Raluca! Yes, I think I’ll keep “some” of the lavender, maybe the ones that look most like topiary. They do look pretty in bloom, but those thick dead stems look like driftwood! 🙂
@@GardenSanity Driftwood looks great too :)
I know the "norm" is juicy, fresh-looking gardens, but I really like the woody, gnarly ones ...it is almost if you have a piece of a mediterranian island on your front doorstep. (minus the incidental sheep or goat of course)
If that is not the look you want, I completely understand, but they really have a charm of their own.
@@muurrarium9460 I agree. Another idea is to add some big, interesting landscape rocks around the base. That could both blend with and distract from the gnarly wood.
@@muurrarium9460 You are right, as are so many other gardeners who weighed in... and now I wish I would have at least kept the large woody pieces to keep in the garden, even if they were removed from the ground. However, I did keep a few of them -- and I did two more videos showing what I did: keeping them as lavender topiaries. And one of them has this lovely twisting upright stem that almost looks like a ribbon! Hope you can watch them and see what I'm describing! Thanks so much for your thoughts! 💜
@@GardenSanity Do not worry about other peoples opinions too much :) I am a terrible gardener myself, but think you are doing a wonderful job.
Personal tastes differ, vary and change.
Thank you for teaching me the right way to prune back these beauties :) My single lavender is already looking 500 times better for it.
(I want to have a complete field of them, but my neighbour hates them with a passion, so I compromise ... well at least this year ;P I plan on sowing a batch of them / just do not tell her!! ;D)
Thank you SO much for this excellent information. I have first year Lavender plants
an will use every part of your great educational information… You are greatly appreciated.
💕❤️👍
You are SO welcome, Mary Ann! ☺Here's to many years enjoying your beautiful Lavender! 💜
You can take cuttings from the existing woody plants and root them as new plants. Once they are ready for planting, just replace the woody plants with them. They will also look more uniform if you take them from one plant since they will have the same genetics.
Exactly right! 👍 In fact I just talked about this (and why I'm not doing this right now) in my recent video about these woody lavender plants. I have a few additional lavender plants (all the same Phenomenal variety) and am unsure if I want to replace these woody plants with more lavender or not. So if I decide I need more plants, I'll definitely take some cuttings. Thanks for mentioning it! 😁
The lower woody stems may already have roots, so keep your eyes open. I propagated some to new locations.
@@GardenSanity more plants is always the answer!
I have a lavender border that was smashed during a tree removal, and am currently taking stem cuttings from the damaged woody survivors. So far, 62 cuttings with a 100% success rate.
@@leliabentley9810 fantastic 💜
Hello, Inger from Yorkshire , England here
It was so lovely coming across your tutorial about pruning/ caring for lavender. I have always grown it in my garden, the most popular here is French lavender. Sadly, I do lose a plant each winter, so I'm always planting fresh lavender in the summer.I have made the mistake of mot cutting back hard enough or soon enough, I blink my eyes , and there it is- the wood!.Iaonly jerp my garden for my own pleasure, not professional in any way, but my garden repays me for the tlc I show it.Well, I just wanted to say that sitting here in my garden on this beautiful sunny, hot day, watching your tips made me feel like I had a friend with me, I felt so relaxed.
Take care, thank you so much, Inger Romantico
Hello Inger -- and pardon my delay in replying to you! Gardening for our own pleasure is the BEST way to garden, in my opinion. 👍 I truly believe we should always plant what we want to plant and not what others tell us we "should" plant -- unless of course it is well-meaning advice such as rabbit-resistant plants...which I'm almost obsessed about. 😂 Luckily my lavender comes back, but I have done similar when a plant doesn't make it: if I love that plant, I'll try it again! Thank you so much for saying you feel like I'm chatting with you in your own garden, as that's the feeling I always hope gardeners have when watching my videos. I really appreciate you taking the time to share this! ❤🏵😊
Thank you for this tutorial of lavender care ! I love how you explained every detail of lavender maintenance!
My pleasure - so glad it was helpful to you!
You are a really, really good teacher. Excellent video. I am in zone 5, eastern Wisconsin. Here at my new senior living community I am growing lavender. I loosely cover my lavender with straw. We can get some extreme cold, -35 or so. Thank you for the instructions on 'woody' lavender plants and how to keep your lavender from getting 'woody'. Take care and healthy.
Thanks for your feedback! 😊 Wow you get some extreme cold temperatures during Winter! I hope your lavender stayed warm and looks beautiful this Summer! 💜
I think the woody stems are beautiful in their own right. But I do love everything you are doing with them. Can’t wait to see an update ❤
Agree, the texture and structure of older branches can add a great deal of visual interest. Cleaning out and selecting which branches to keep is pretty labor intensive, but rewarding if you have the skill and compulsion to do the work. It's likely that some of the branch formations you like most are dead or dying, which can be kind of disappointing, (some types of juniper tend to have more durable small old branches and will give you great pruning options).The method of pruning younger stems and foliage in the video is spot on and certainly applies if you prune to expose older gnarled branches.
Thanks Laura, I agree that the wood does have a unique look to it! I have two more videos (since this one) that provide updates for you. In one I decided to make my own version of lavender topiaries with some of those woody lavenders, and in the other video I show what they look like two months later. You can find them here on my channel by searching for "woody lavender!" 💜
@@bakeone4406 Thanks for your feedback, Bake One! 👍 I ended up removing all of that woody gnarled mess, although it was bittersweet. However, I did keep two of the plants and trimmed them into my version of lavender topiaries! One one of them, the wood twists upward almost like a ribbon. You can see the updates if interested if you search for "woody lavender" here on my channel! Hope you like them! (And you're right -- it IS labor intensive!) 🤣
@@GardenSanity 👍🩷
Thank you so much for giving us valuable information on trimming, and fertilizer for lavender. I worked at a garden center and planted some lavender that did well for a year and then did not survive after pruning in early Spring. I have a Phenomenal lavender plant I pruned just recently that has new growth now. This video is amazing and I am thankful that you showed us what to avoid with the woody lavender. Your how-to ideas are wonderful and I enjoyed the trimming ideas as well. Thank you so much. The in-depth details are so helpful!!!!
You're welcome Laura! I'm glad to know the video has been helpful -- and I hope everyone learns from my own mistakes too to avoid the woody lavender! 😀
Thank you so much for this. I help maintain my parents' garden in the UK and they have a lot of lavender plants - this was super-helpful, clear to understand, and vert engaging.
Learned a lot. Those woody lavender look so much like plants that grow wild in the high desert of New Mexico.
Glad you enjoyed the video Barbara! That's interesting comparing them to high desert plants - I should have just gone with that explanation. It would have been easier! 😀💜
Thank you very much for this video. .
Lavender is one of my favourite plants and now you have explained about dead wood I can see where I've been going wrong. .many thanks
I'm so glad this video was helpful for you, Frank! Thanks for your feedback! 🐝
thank you so much for your insights!! I'm running my wooden Levander now and see what happens :)
Pardon my delay in responding. How did your pruning go? I hope both you and your lavender are much happier now!
What a great tutorial. Very concise in a step-by-step fashion. Thank you!
😊Thank you so much for your feedback Emma! I really appreciate it very much! 💜
My lavender is dead (woody) in the middle. The rest looks great! Just wondering how to prune it.
@@barbarasams8745 Hi Barbara - huge apologies as I didn't see this comment sooner. Not sure what you decided to do, if anything, but you could dig up the lavender and divide it into smaller plants, removing the dead section. I hope this helps! 💜
Thank you! Your video gave me courage to prune my lavender.
You're welcome and I'm so happy I could help! Enjoy your lavender!
this is SUCH a great video!!! thank you!! I also want to keep my lavender looking good, and will follow this advice completely.
Well thank you Alexandra! I really appreciate it! 💜🌿
I planted 16 English Lavender plants in a row along my patio where they get full sun and are a joy to see. They're always a big hit with the bumblebees when in bloom. I leave them alone all year so the seed is available for birds through the winter, and then prune them once to 3 inches tall in early spring.
Oh I bet it smells AND looks wonderful, with the bees enjoying the flowers! And yes it's always nice to leave the seeds for the birds. 👍 Since mine remain evergreen (or ever-gray) I like to trim them up in the Fall for Winter interest -- and so many seeds fall down in the process, the ground is covered by birds for awhile! Thanks for sharing! 💜
Thank you for sharing your story for the benefit of all future lavender gardens
You’re welcome, and hopefully gardeners can learn from my mistakes! (Although I might decide to pretend some of them are topiary plants and leave them almost as is!)
What an awesome video and clear and concise explanation. Not speaking on and on. Really enjoyed and appreciated the details. Will do that to mine.
I really appreciate your feedback Nan! Thanks so much, and happy gardening! 🐝
Great video! I was hoping the story would have had a happy ending with you showing how you were able to fix the woody lavender as I’m in the same boat. I can’t bear killing it. 😢 I gave my plant quite the haircut this spring so I’ll see how that worked out. And I got 2 new baby phenomenal varieties, I’m going to try and take a cutting from them also. You can never have too much!
I agree that you can never have too much lavender, Karen! 👍And there IS a happy ending: I have two videos I filmed where I give updates on what I ended up doing with the woody lavender! In the first, I show you what I did (I'll keep it a surprise for you) and in the second, I provide an update two months later. You can find them here on my channel by searching my videos for woody lavender! I hope you enjoy them and that maybe they give you some ideas! 💜
You made it simple and clear Cutting after making sure you are keeping 2-3 inches of nice green leaves growing on a nice green stem above a woody stem use the pruner and cut . If you want a dome shape cut above 1 inch of green leaves on a green stem above the woody stem from the surrounding of the bush outside of the dome and keep the centre 2-3 inches high and cut
I'm so glad you found it helpful!
I also am conducting a failed topiary looking project with my lavender and appreciate this video quite a bit! Thank you and I echo the comments enjoying your warm, direct style.
Hi Leah - hope your topiary project worked? I ended up turning 2 of mine into topiaries. I'm calling them my "imperfect woody topiaries" which I think explains it nicely! 💜 Thanks for your feedback too!
Thank you so much for this video! With temperatures warming and snow melting here in upstate NY, my garden - especially the early spring tasks such as lavender pruning- has been on my mind. I was confused/misguided on their care last season, but have a few younger plants that I intend to treat right. You very simply and thoroughly explained this aspect of gardening and I am much more optimistic now. You get an A for effort in trying to remedy and experiment with the woody nightmare, (they're still so beautiful!) so I wish you the best in replacing them. Hoping for an update video. Subscribed❤
Glad the video helped! 👍 I’m definitely getting ready to “fix” that woody nightmare soon, so stay tuned! 🎬 My plan is to remove what I want to remove while hopefully keeping at least one plant on each side of the front entrance looking like modern topiary. Modern = oddly shaped! 😂 Then I’ll decide what’s next. 😀🤞
You are so pleasant to listen to. Thank you
Why thank you Fiorella! 😊
Hi from the Uk 🇬🇧 Well I now know I've been pruning my lavender wrong for years! I only ever trim the flower stems back. I thought Lavender just became naturally woody over time. Great video X
Hello from across the pond! In a sense, what you were doing was harvesting the lavender without realizing it -- and that's what I used to do too. Thus, I ended up with my driftwood-looking woody lavender. However, I still think it is beautiful -- especially in bloom! 💜
You have explained it so well with pictures and ways to round back a lavender plant. Showing woody bits and all. Very very good video
Thanks so much for your feedback! Yes, I had to show the woody lavender, especially as so many of us have experienced some degree of “woodyness”! 🙂 Glad you liked the different ways to round the plant too. 💜
You can also dig them out, make a deeper hole and plant them back in all the way up to the green base. Woody parts will be in the hole covered by soil.
That's interesting Marisa -- I never heard of doing this, but I guess it makes sense. So the woody parts become the roots?
@@GardenSanity sort of. I have experimented last year with a couple of mine. But it is a huge undertaking. I have pruned them back to the last couple of green stems, dig them up and plant them deep in up to the green stems. Theoretically new growth should appear from below, but new growth will happen on the old wooden parts left as well. I can see it happening but it is a very slow process though. Need to see how it goes with the patience. Too bad I can’t show you a picture of it here.
@@marisaj2346 Hi Marisa -- how are your lavender plants doing? Did they provide new growth after you replanted them?
@@GardenSanity actually very well. They definitely need to be dug very deep in, so to cover all “wooden” parts. But I am not sure it is worth all the bother. Maybe the simplest way is to plant a new one. 😊🌸
@@marisaj2346 Thanks for sharing the update with me! I appreciate it, and yes I'd probably purchase new plants too with all that work. 😊💜
I hacked most of my overgrown lavender out some years ago because it had become large and unsightly. I never knew it could be pruned! Seems like with Irish roots this knowledge should be innate but it must have skipped my generation. 😃I have a small plant left that I will now try to manage properly. Thank you!
Hi Joan - thanks for the wonderful laugh re: your Irish knowledge about lavender skipping a generation! 😂The good news is your current lavender plant is in great gardening hands!
I came here to look for a solution for my woody lavender. New plants is the answer. Thank you.
Hi Susan -- I hope your new plants are doing well! If interested, you can see what I decided to do with my own woody lavender in the Spring this year. I removed most but did keep two that I turned into my own version of lavender topiaries! If you search for "woody lavender" here on my channel, you should find those videos. (However, I hope you don't have to deal with woody lavender ever again!) 💜
@@GardenSanityI didn’t know how much I needed this great video until I saw it - thanks! I planted a bunch of new plants last year so hopefully it’s not too late to keep them in shape. But what happens with those woody plants if you cut them deeply into the woody stem? Does it kill the plant?
@monicarolnickelson3492 Glad the video was helpful Monica! 😀 If you cut too far into the woody stems (and remove all of the live green/grey leaves in the process), most likely you won’t get any new growth on what remains of that woody stem.
@@GardenSanityThanks! That information is great invective to keep those plants cut back every year.
Indeed, it has helped my plants look much better! 🌿
What a helpful video! Thank you so much!
You're very welcome Angela - I'm happy to help! 🐝
Thank you for the experience. Actually i think it’s depend of the personal taste. For me it’s a natural beauty when lavender is growing big wood and developing as it would develop itself in the nature. But it’s of course depends of the personal vision of the garden and it’s size.
Thanks for your feedback Anna! You are one of several gardeners that has helped me look at that woody lavender with new eyes! I admit I was just seeing how awful it looked every Winter season. I ended up keeping two of the lavenders and turned them into my own version of lavender topiaries, so I get to enjoy the woody-ness and some flowers too. You can see them in my recent video -- and one of them even has a woody base that turns almost like a ribbon. It's really neat to see! 💜
Thank you for the simple yet Excellent video
You're welcome Lisa! Glad to help! 💜
You're doing a great job, thanks for the video. I made the same mistake with my first lavender plant. This year I bought two more, I am excited to plant them in the ground and I will follow your steps.🙂
Why thank you Rania -- I appreciate your feedback! I wish you many wonderful seasons enjoying your lavender! 💜
Mine did this too! Very frustrating. Thank you for the tutorial. I'm yanking Mr. Woody out and starting again!
Glad you enjoyed the video! And thanks for the laugh about getting rid of "Mr. Woody" to try again! 💜
Love your no-nonsense smart tutorial -very sensical down to earth explanations. Have Russian lavender -think they need a wide berth. Had let them get away with big woody stems.
Thanks for your feedback -- I really appreciate it! Yes when Lavender gets woody, it definitely takes up a lot of space in the garden!
Thank you so much for explaining in details
You're welcome Fariba - glad to help! 💜
I am starting a new garden from scratch in 40cm of top soil. I have been given 3 lavenders that look like they have never had a prune about 2 years old. I am going to thin out the long undergrowth and prune and plant as you have said. I will post some photos
I hope the pruning and trimming went well for you! Enjoy putting your new garden together -- I always love starting a new garden bed!
@@GardenSanity it is coming into the start of Winter on 1st June in Melbourne. They look scary! But seem to be starting to sprout new growth. I'll be patient and wait 3 months. Princess Pink Lavender.
@@Photo-ops_OnPeninsula Oooh, Princess Pink Lavender is so pretty! And it needs little water, so the common mistake everyone makes -- including me with lavender sometimes -- it watering too much. In the Spring, give it some good fertilizer around each plant worked into the soil, and water when the weather doesn't have rain forecasted for many days. And yes -- patience is not what we gardeners thrive on at all, am I right? 😂
@@GardenSanityok well here we are more than 3 mths later... Here are the photos as promised... The first two took a while but WOW look at them now... The third one didn't make it... it tried. The only difference was no. 3 was on the side of the house that only got morning sun...
As a professional landscape gardener. I always pruned my customers lavender at mid bloom. The wives loved it when they received a large sack of dried lavender flowers to enjoy all winter. I would use my secateurs to remove the flower stocks then hedge shears to shape the plant. If I waited until fall the lavender would seed the beds with more lavender plants and the garden became more cluttered. If you want more lavender plants they are easily propagated from softwood cuttings.
Thank you! This video answers all my questions about Lavender prune.
You're welcome Travila! Happy pruning!
Wonderful instructional video, thank so much :)
You're very welcome - glad you enjoyed it! 🐝
Excellent video!
One of the best so far!! Thank you from Pamela of Tecumseh, Ontario 🇨🇦
You're very welcome Pamela, and I appreciate your feedback so much! 💜😊
Thank you for showing us how to prune Lavender! I just planted three plants and I usually don't like to prune plants because I would probably hurt or kill the plants but in this case it's a good thing to cut it back!
I'm with you Karen: sometimes it feels like it's not fair to the new plants to cut them back just a few months later. However, like you said: it's a good thing! 💜
I like to think of it as the lavendar harvest! Love putting little bags in the sock drawer and linen closet.
That's a wonderful way to think about it - it makes the entire pruning process enjoyable! There's nothing quite like the scent of lavender, and when it's from lavender you've grown yourself - well, that's the best! 💜
great tutorial!!! Just what I needed!
I'm so glad Nancy! Enjoy your lavender! 🐝
Hello there, thank you so much for your video. I have looked at many on how to prune lavender. Yours has been the most informative and easy to follow. I'm in Australia, so now we are coming into the last month of summer. I will prune in March probably. We don't get a lot of frost where I live. Thank you also for showing me your woody lavender. I may have a rosemary and daisy bush that look very similar!! 🙄😂 I look firward to watching more of your videos. Cheers 🌿🌸
Thanks for your feedback Michelle -- I really appreciate it! Yes I think pruning in March should be fine for your lavender. 👍 And I had to show the "truth" about just how overgrown and woody some of my lavender has become, so I'm glad I'm not alone in having plants like this! 😃 I'm still not sure if I'll rip some of them out but keep a few that are sort of looking like topiaries. I still have awhile to think about it. Enjoy the rest of your Summer! 🌞🍃🌸
This is an excellent video. I might be done with lavendar, but i need to clean up what we have until it's replaced. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed the video, and I totally understand being done with lavender. That was my intent also, until I ended up saving a couple of the plants and turning them into imperfect topiaries! 😄
Well done video. Very helpful and engaging.
I planted lavender last year and they grew like a bee swarm leaving the nest. I just whacked back the dried flowers and then came across your info - I will be getting back at it. Thanks!
You're welcome Tim! I love your description of a bee swarm leaving the nest! 🐝🐝🐝
I have the same problem but with rosemary. It grows in a similar way and creates those woody stems that tend to drop.
Ditto, I had to dig out my rosemary bush and replaced with a new one. This time I'm going to prune it hard every year
That's actually good to know. Thank you for sharing! 👍
In a previous house where I lived there was a long, low hedge of lavender running along the boundary between our garden and the neighbour's, they had planted it and it grew really well, in full sun and a well drained soil. Our neighbour shocked me the first time I saw him pruning the lavender hard in early spring, with a hedge trimmer! It seemed so harsh and drastic and cut the plant really short, I thought it might seriously damage the plants! However every summer those plants had grown over 2ft tall with wonderful scented flowers and buzzing with bees, so beautiful, and they grew really large and thrived like that for years -I have remembered that pruning lesson ever since!
Wonderful job explaining this. I'm going to have to pull out some as well and start over. Thank you for the great information!
Thanks for your feedback Audrey! 💜 I just shared a video recently of me finally tackling these woody plants. I actually kept one on each side and turned them into what I call a "modern" topiaries! Maybe that will inspire you! (By the way, it felt great to finally remove them and not have to keep staring at them!) 🙂
so depressing and so helpful! I din't trim my lavender bush for almost ten years and I was planing to recover it. The last minutes of the post were a eye opening, thanks for saving my time :D
Very helpful and thank you for sharing this information.
You're welcome Elaine -- very glad the video helped! 💜
I planted my lavender path (25 plants) in 2004. And followed similar instructions to these provided by an old gardener ever since. No woody stems and a path that's regularly admired by visitors!
Wow! Your lavender path sounds like it is not only beautiful but must also have the best scent too! 💜 I appreciate your sharing that "an old gardener" and I have similar advice on pruning! Thank you!
Very informative! Thanks for sharing your knowledge about growing lavender👍
You're welcome Elena -- I'm so glad you found the info helpful! 💜 Happy gardening!
This is so helpful! I have a lavender plant that I put in the ground a year ago and left alone “to let it to get established.” But now I can’t wait for fall to prune it back.
Glad this was helpful Doug! You did the right thing letting the lavender get established its first year. I hope you get some nice flowers this Summer -- and of course enjoy the pruning process in the Fall!
Thanks for sharing with us your experience with lavander!
You’re welcome Shiryn! Hope I can help others avoid woody lavender. 🙂👍💜
My beautiful lavender plants are just like your old woody plants now (after 3 years)! I didn't prune them enough, and they are going to be pulled out and replaced. Sad! I'm really glad I came upon your video today. I live in Zone 7a and will plant new lavender the first week of May. Thanks for sharing your lavender care experience!
You're welcome! I'm glad you're starting fresh with new plants! 👍I ended up removing most of mine -- I did a video about it here on the channel. After turning two of them into "topiaries" I also added 2 newer lavender plants from the backyard into those spots. Hopefully these will do much better with me paying more attention this time around! 🙂
Thank you so much for this video- it’s nice to know the pitfalls too!!! ❤❤❤
You're welcome Chelsea! I'm always trying to keep it honest and real, as gardening is definitely not a perfect art form! (At least for most of us!) 😀💜
An excellent tutorial that gets on with the subject with no waffling. Clear and concise. Thank you.
My pleasure Veronica - and thank you for your feedback too! 💜
Thank you for sharing your expertise. 👍
You're welcome Vicky! Glad to help! 💜
Such a professionally edited and filmed video! And I learned something new - have two lavender bushes, they smell amazing every time you touch or water them.
Why thank you for your feedback - I really appreciate it! 😊 I agree with you that the scent is truly wonderful! 💜
I live in the PNW and just recently pruned my (very woody!!) lavender plants, thinking they would return to the once beautiful plants they were when I originally purchased them. I am so glad I came across your video, as I must sadly admit that my plants are past the point of no return and I should replace them. I tend to be timid about pruning anything in my garden, and lavender in particular made me nervous because of conflicting information I had received about pruning; going forward, I won't be so hesitant. Thank you so much for your very informative video!
Although I'm sorry your plants couldn't be saved, I'm glad that my video helped for the future! And yes, I think we all are timid when first pruning a plant that's new to us. I know that I am. But once you go for it, it's amazing what a confidence builder it becomes -- especially when the plants respond nicely! 🙂
I pruned back my lavender in the spring. I did this to keep it small as it was crowding out my other plants in my perennial garden. Besides, I love the smell of lavender so pruning is enjoyable just for the smell.
I agree with you 100% about how wonderful the smell of lavender is when pruning! I like to take my time and enjoy the process for this exact reason! ☺
Actually you should let some of the woody stems grow. In years, they have a look like a bonsai tree. You can shape them as you want, and they can bring a different style to your garden or entrance.
Lavenders are quite beneficial since they repel some certain pests 👍
And dont forget - good for the bees.
Great minds think alike, Hakan! 👍 I did end up turning two of them into topiaries and if you search for "woody lavender" here on my channel, you can see those videos. And yes -- I definitely adore lavender for both the amount of bees that cover the plants all Summer long as well as the mosquitoes that lavender repels too! Thanks so much! 😃
@@ambersis Indeed Ambersis! I love how the lavender is covered with bees all Summer! I love watching them too! 🐝💜
Thanks for sharing these tips. I live in the eastern part of the Columbia River Gorge in WA State. I didn't prune my lavendar in time last fall, so I did it this spring. What a relief to hear that it's okay to prune in the spring. One of mine is pretty woody too. It's not as cute as it's sibling next to it, lol! I'll probably keep it, though, since it is still producing flowers.
I had no idea...thanks!
You're welcome Julie!
I had one lavender plant in a pot and all the torrents of rain we had this year rotted the roots . I hate having to replace it because it was very big and woody. I had pruned to far back as well. Your video helped me tremendously. I will be replacing my plant and it's going in the ground in my lean soil. It's sad to realize you are your plants problem. Lol
You made me laugh out loud Catherine, because yes -- we can indeed be the problem sometimes with our plants! 🤣I know I've been responsible for quite a few garden disasters over the years. But, we learn from our mistakes. Hope your new plants give you years of lovely lavender flowers! 💜
I'm VERY familiar with Woody Lavender!😮 I have a couple now and have had to get rid of some over the years. BUT, last year I bought a new plant and will coddle it, starting this Spring! I'll try trimming the others also, they are producing .. I'm in Zone 6-ish I think, suburbs of Paris.
So you can appreciate my pain with this Woody Lavender! 😀 Makes me feel better, reminding me that it happens and not to be too hard on myself for letting it get this way. 👍 And yes, I’m coddling my newer plants too! It’s almost a challenge to see if I can keep them from turning into wood. 🌿💜
Yes, great vid, tutorial,commentary. Loved how you showed us your journey thru good and bad. I love lavender but have always struggled with it in the Arizona heat. I've learned the best places and water amounts for my lavender to survive without getting fried but thought the woodiness was heat-related. Any way, I'm working with two batches from last year that I didn't prune so now, I'll be pruning! Thank you!
I'm glad I could help so many fellow gardeners by showing my ups and downs with this plant! I hope your lavender is much happier after being pruned this Spring, and I hope you are currently staying cool in the Summer heat! 💜
The woody lavender isn’t awful. It’s beautiful in its own way.
Yes
Sure it is, nature takes its course 🌿 But I can understand the concept of "awful" for a gardener.
I’m in Canada, it’s already frost at night, late October and my lavender flowers are still growing and still purple!!! Such an amazing plant!! I’ll harvest it all this year, my closets will smell so good LOL
That's amazing how late they bloom for you! I'm envious as mine are finished blooming. Those closets are going to smell wonderful! 💜
This was so easy to understand. Thank you
You're welcome Samantha! And thank you for the feedback! 💜
EXCELLENT video. Thank you. I think I've waited too long for a fall prune so will try in the spring. My old lavender has gone woody and will be replaced. Again, this video was very informative for the average gardener. Great visuals and presentation.
Thanks so much for your feedback Jan -- I really appreciate it! 😊 Pruning in Spring will be just fine! If you watched my "woody lavender topiary" videos, you saw that I ended up removing some of my woody lavender too, and planted some new ones to start fresh. The two plants that I turned into topiaries are doing well, even with their woody trunks! 😄
I always prune my French Lav savagely, all the way in to the hard wood. And it grows back fresh and young looking.never had issues
I like the word you used: savagely!
I wish I had done what you did because my phenomenal lavenders don't look so phenomenal. They are very woody. I think I'll probably give up the ones that I have and find when's the best time to get and plant new ones for zone 5.
Alright! I heard that! My Phenomenals are probably 2 years old and got a bit out of hand this summer. This video was so helpful and I had already read how they like very sandy compost and even red rock pebble instead of mulch and they will get it so I can look forward to seeing them again in spring.
@@marthakratz7877 Hi Martha, your best bet is to wait until Spring to purchase and plant lavender in Zone 5. This way, the plant will have a long season getting established to then have wonderful success in making it through the following dormant Winter season. 👍
@@GoldenPowergardens Sounds like a good plan! 😀
Well made video! I love your vide whenever you giggle. Thank you for sharing your experience so I can do better.
My pleasure, and glad you enjoy my giggle! Sometimes I just have to laugh at the reality of the situation! 😂😄
I've learned a lot! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Proxima, and thanks for your feedback!
Thanks for the tips for pruning and showing the downside of not pruning hard enough. I had to replace several lavender plants due to timid pruning.