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Prune the lavender: tips on lavender pruning, branches to cut and bush management. Care and advice for growing lavender.
There lavender, thanks to its healing properties and its enchanting scent, it is one of the most popular plants in the garden. To make it grow luxuriantly it is important prune it in the right way. In the article you will find all the instructions to be careful pruning lavender. To have one lavender at its maximum splendor we have to wait about 3 years from when we planted it.
When to water lavender
Therelavenderit is a low maintenance plant: it does not like too abundant irrigations and prefers to stay dry for a few days. In summer, when watering needs to be more frequent, you can limit yourself to watering the lavender only once a week.
Why is it necessary to prune lavender?
There lavender it is a plant that grows rapidly and lignifies in the lower part, tending to stretch and strip. Therepruning it is important to prolong the life of the lavender plant, otherwise it would become very woody, the stems would lose that bright green and the leaves that characteristic gray color.
If you avoidprune lavenderFurthermore, you will see a progressive decrease in flowering. Thanks topruningthe plant will be able to renew its stems and remain productive.
How to prune lavender, the procedure
There lavender it should be pruned every year by mid-September, immediately after flowering which occurs from June to September but also in summer if the plants have lost their beautiful appearance.
Therepruning lavenderdepends on several circumstances. In this paragraph we will look at the general lines forprune lavender, below we will deal with the specific case of an aged and overly lignified lavender.
- Trim the faded stems to about two centimeters from the branch below.
- Then give it a brush, trying to give the plant a rounded and pleasant shape.
- If the bush is small, a pair of scissors is sufficient, if not, you should use long-bladed shears.
- If the lavender, for the most part, it is lignified and must be cut at the height of the first leaves; this will serve to rejuvenate the plant but it will not bloom the following year, it will take a couple of years.
The average life of a lavender plant is 8/10 years, then it will need to be replaced. The longest-lived varieties live 10 - 15 years. The replacement of the head can take place with the planting of a new lavender plant or with a renewal that involves a very drastic pruning.
In practice, you have to prune the entire plant, leaving only a few centimeters of stem. Starting with the old stem, the plant will produce new shoots. In this case, to have a new flowering you have to wait a year at most two.
In the case of replacing the lavender plant, it will be necessary to completely eradicate the plant without leaving the old root system buried. If necessary, dig a hole to remove the entire root. The hole must then be filled with fertile and fresh soil.
The land dedicated tocultivation of lavenderthey are well-drained and fresh ones: the roots cannot stand water stagnation.
Lavender can also be grown in pots, on the balcony: it is among the plants that attract the easiest butterflies to grow!
To have abundant blooms
In addition to pruning, good soil is also necessary to obtain abundant blooms. With the rising temperatures in early spring, you can provide the plant with a specific fertilizer to be administered even in summer, when the lavender is in full bloom.
A good supply of fertilizer (liquid or soluble granular) rich in microelements and with an NPK 4-6-6 ratio will be necessary.
Nitrogen (N) will help vegetation and the development of new photosynthetic tissues. Phosphorus will help support good plant vigor while potassium and trace elements will improve blooms. A fertilizer of this kind is ideal for having abundant blooms.
Fertilizers with an NPK 4-6-6 ratio are easy to find. On Amazon, a one-liter bottle can be bought for 5.65 euros and free shipping. Once again, we refer you to the official page:Gesal, fertilizer for geraniums(on the package it says geraniums but, in reality, you can use it for any flowering plants!). Also on Amazon, there are also specific ones for lavender but they are the same… they are just more expensive. To choose a good fertilizer, just read the ratio between nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
If you have a fertilizer for flowering plants at home, check the ratio between the nutrients mentioned and, if suitable, you can administer that.
Prune the lavender for drying
The collection of the inflorescences is carried out when the flowering of the ear has begun, in the central hours of the day with the flowers very dry, also cutting off a portion of the stem, so as to be able to make bunches to hang up for drying.
Just tie a bunch of flowers and hang them upside down for about two weeks, always keeping an eye on them to prevent them from drying out too much and falling off.
The twigs can be used to create beautiful scented compositions or as a linen perfume.
You may also be interested in our full article on How to grow lavender.
