Properly pruning and propagating lavender

Lavender, a Mediterranean beauty, is a fragrant magnet for insects, a versatile medicinal herb, and a charming addition to gardens, balconies, terraces, and interiors with its captivating scent and decorative appeal. When it comes to care, you’re in luck because lavender is low maintenance. However, the right pruning at the right time is crucial. We’ll explain what you need to pay attention to so you can enjoy your lavender for many years.

Lavender is not just lavender; this becomes clear when looking at the different species and varieties. In terms of flower colours, the semi-shrub offers pink, white, lavender blue, and light and dark violet. The leaves and shoots are covered with a grey, woolly texture in their early stages, but this fades somewhat as the plant matures. There are low-growing lavender varieties that reach just 20 cm in height, while the tallest can grow to 1 meter.

Whether you choose the classic true lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) with its countless varieties, spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia), or select a French lavender (Lavandula stoechas) for your balcony herb garden, the pruning technique and timing are not significantly different for all lavender species.

You should prune your lavender twice a year to keep it healthy and encourage abundant blooming. This helps keep the semi-shrub compact and prevents it from becoming bare from the inside. For pruning lavender, choose a dry day, as this allows the plant tissue to heal more quickly and prevents the entry of disease-causing pathogens.

Lavender sits between perennials and shrubs, striking a perfect balance with its unique characteristics. It becomes woody at the base, with only the new shoots being soft and green like perennials. Trimming it close to the ground, as you would with many perennials, is not suitable for lavender. If you cut back into the old wood, it won't do the plant any good. It will struggle to sprout and lose its ability to regenerate.

A sharp knife or good pruning shears, like the EasyPrune by Bosch, are perfect for the job. Make sure to clean the cutting surfaces carefully before starting. You can also disinfect them with a bit of alcohol. This prevents any diseases that may have been transferred from cutting previous plants from spreading to your lavender.

Spring pruning:

The first cut of the year is made in spring before the plants start to sprout. There should be no more night frosts, so keep an eye on the weather and the plants. Late February to mid-March is usually a good time to prune lavender. Cut just above the old growth, and at the most, remove up to two-thirds of the plant.

Summer pruning: 

By August, the flowers are almost faded, and the summer pruning follows, where only the flowers and flower stems are removed. This is especially easy if you gather the flower stems together and cut the bunch with garden shears just below the last flower.

How to keep your lavender healthy over the winter, read here.

Lavender is often used for edging flower beds. Low-growing evergreen lavender varieties, like ‘Dwarf Blue’, are particularly well-suited for this. Pruning is easy to do after flowering and in spring using a shrub or grass shear from Bosch, allowing you to make quick and effortless progress.

There are times when you can’t tend to the garden, and if you haven’t pruned your lavender regularly, it will become noticeable. The lower part becomes bare and woody. Now, patience is the key. A radical cut in spring may sometimes work, but it’s also possible that the semi-shrub won’t sprout at all. It’s best to proceed with caution and leave it with more green shoots in the spring than usual. Each year, you can cut a little deeper but avoid cutting into the old wood. This way, you'll be able to restore a compact, richly blooming lavender.

Lavender dries well, and the flowers are popular for filling sachets, while whole stems can be used to make dried bouquets or door wreaths. When one-third to half of the flowers have opened, the essential oil content is at its highest. Cut the stems as long as possible, as this will make it easier to hang them for drying. The best time to do this is late morning, once the dew has dried.

You can never have enough lavender. However, since the plants are not cheap, it’s worth propagating lavender through cuttings yourself. It’s quite simple; you just need to know when and which stems to cut. The best time for propagating lavender is late summer.  

• Cut approximately 10 cm long green shoots with a clean pair of scissors and remove the lower leaves. Leave 2 to 3 pairs of leaves on the stem.
• Place the shoots into a mixture of seed compost and sand in a 1:1 ratio. You can optionally mix in some rooting powder to encourage root growth. The handy gardening tools from Bosch will help you with this.
• Water the soil and cover the pots with a clear plastic hood; this increases humidity and stimulates growth. 

• As soon as you notice the plants forming new leaves and starting to grow, the covers should be removed. Next year, you can plant your young plants.

If you'd like to know more about when to carry out specific gardening tasks, you can find the right times to do the important activities in our garden calendar.