Does lavender some back from the root at all? I want to shear mine off to the ground, past all of the gnarly looking bare branches. Is that going to kill it? It's really looking like sage brush.
Does lavender some back from the root at all...?
Renwings, I don't have much experience with lavender but don't think I'd take it to the ground. Pruning some back wouldn't hurt. On most plants, the rule of thumb is cut back 1/3rd to maintain. I do hope someone with more experience will weigh in for you... pod
I'm really half tempted to tear the whole thing out and start over again with a new bush. It's been neglected for too long.
If you don't care about it, experiment and then you can share what did or didn't work. How old is it?
It has been here for a LONG time. Long before I ever bought this house. My neighbor says its has been there as long as she's been here too. I thought it was nice when I bought the house, but it gets woodier and the flowers sparser every year.
It'll smell nice burning in the wood stove anyway, I guess!
The other option could be to underplant with something to hide the woody stems. If you do decide to remove it, you might try rooting some cuttings. Or perhaps layering a side shoot over the winter and then leaving the new plant in its place?
I've got one that I didn't prune very well, and it's quite woody and leggy. I'm trying the layering thing. I cut it back as far as I dared, but it's still pretty ugly compared to the rest in my hedge.
Good luck!
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I found this on a lavender website:
"It takes about three years for a Lavender to reach full size. Plants should be pruned every year immediately after bloom. Pruning should not be confused with harvesting. Pruning is necessary to extend the life of the plant. Lavender flower wand stems are usually a bright green while Lavender leaves are gray. Cut back not only the flower stem, but also about a third of the gray-leaved stems as well. If the plant has been neglected, it can be cut back further, but avoid pruning back so far that only woody stems with no leaves are showing. A plant pruned into the wood may push out latent (sleeping) buds or it may die. "
So I guess that is a no. But it did answer my question nicely. I hope someone else can benefit from it. I can't cut into the wood, but I will cut it back to the last bud. If I don't like the way it looks next spring, OUT IT COMES!