'Perfect' time to prune lavender plants for beautiful blooms all summer long

If you have a lavender plant in your garden, you'll know that it takes plenty of care in order to flourish. One of the most important things to consider is pruning, as this is what keeps plants healthy and flowering.

And knowing the perfect time to do this can prepare your lavender for the upcoming summer months, ensuring they keep on blooming straight through until winter.

One of the most effective pruning times is during the month of May - although it can also be done later on in the summer or just before autumn, when the plant stops flowering.

That's according to Michael the Mediterranean Gardener on TikTok, who says that right now is the ideal time for getting out into the garden and giving your lavender plants some TLC.

In one of his videos, he explained: "If you missed pruning your lavender in late summer or it is looking untidy or has frost damage, now in mid to late spring when the new growth appears is the perfect time to prune.

"No one wants lavender that becomes leggy or twiggy because you didn’t prune it in the right way at the right time.”

Pruning lavender is a simple task if you make sure to use a sharp and clean cutting tool. You should also try to avoid cutting more than two-thirds back as this can make it difficult for the plant to grow again.

Michael said: “You can prune lavender as hard as you like, as long as you are not cutting into old wood and leave some new growth beneath the cutting point.”

You should avoid cutting into the old wood, which is the thicker stems of the plant. These help to provide structure, and cutting into it can stress out or even kill your lavender.

According to Michael, you will be able to “really easily” tell what part of your lavender plant is old wood as it will be “this brown stuff down here with this almost white foliage” while the new growth which you can cut will be “bright green.”

He said: “I don’t want to prune down here [on the old wood] at all, I don’t want to touch any of this stuff, I want to come up here and I want to be just above the old wood so I’m gonna take that to just there.

“If you do cut down into old wood, that area may not regrow and you could lose the plant so if in doubt, stay above that new growth.”

Cut the stem around two to three inches above the old wood and into the leafy section of the new growth, and create a rounded shape for the lavender plant by cutting the outer stems a little shorter than the inner stems.

Take off any dead or damaged branches, and your lavender plant will then be ready to flower spectacularly in the summertime.

Michael said: “Pruning in spring will delay flowering slightly, but in the end, you’re gonna get a better-shaped bush that will last longer.”

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