LAVENDER

LAVENDER - I have French and Spanish Lavender in my garden.
When and how do I prune the bushes?

When I was at the lavender festival in Sequim one year they were pruning with this little clipper thingie that had blades that stuck out like fingers on a hand. When you pressed the 'on' button, the fingers moved rapidly back and forth in a clipping motion. The woman just took that thing and went over the tops of the plant in a sort of mounded motion to keep the correct shape of the plant. She was doing that in July when we were there. I have no idea the correct times to prune but I guess whenever they look like they need it or at the least in the fall before they go to sleep for the winter.

I went and got one of those clippers and it's a nifty thing and useful for a lot of pruning. I got mine at Sears.

Gwen

I just happened to watch "Gardening By the Yard" with Paul James this morning (Sunday, 7/2) and there was a whole segment on lavender. Different types, how to plant, how to cut, etc. The lavender expert said to basically prune any time by pulling the stalks aside and cutting right where the "woody" area starts. It looked like she cut out chunks of the lavender in keeping with the shape of the bush. At the end of the show Paul James mentioned to get more info on anything in that episode log on to HGTV.com.
-Stacey

I just looked at the HGTV website and the segment was entitles "Luscious Lavender" with Rosemary Nightingale. This was taken from the webite "Harvest lavender when the blooms are at their peak—tight, richly colored, plentiful buds.The stems come together in clusters. Grab a handful and cut the lavender about one inch above the wood or dry part. This is a good time to prune some of the woodier branches away for even better flower production later in the season." This is the info from the episode: Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-1301. I can't figure out how to make a hyperlink to HGTV's website to make this easier; sorry.
-Stacey

Speaking of Paul James, I used to watch him "religiously", and then I lost track of the show. Maybe it's my cable company..... the guide showed it being on, but I got other shows. What time is it on in your area? I miss him!

Sanna

I watch on satellite so every channel but the local netword affiliates are broadcast Eastern
Time. So I watched at 8:30AM Sunday morning so that should make it 11:30AM on cable stations. He is on every Saturday and Sunday morning at the same time. I love his quirkiness and catch it whenever my kids wake me up early enough!
-Stacey