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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

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Original poster

Get rid of lavender?

14 replies

Maggiethecat · 27/05/2023 19:23

Bought 2 plants last year and was pleased with but they now look very raggedy.

see then and now pics.

worth saving?

OP posts:

Whatevergetsyouthroughthenight · 27/05/2023 19:24

Prune each stem back to the lowest point where you can see new shoots.

lomotree · 27/05/2023 19:48

id get rid of it. lavender is very hard to grow unless its really sunny and even then after a while it always goes raggedy...better to go with a lower maintenance plant

mamakoukla · 27/05/2023 19:59

Lavender needs pruning to prevent it getting leggy/woody. It’s a very forgiving plant (thankfully). Mine get a severe pruning each year, as described by Whatever earlier in this thread

mamakoukla · 27/05/2023 20:00

And it’s pretty low maintenance. Prune, remember to water probably not as much as it’d like and it thrives under benign neglect

swanling · 27/05/2023 20:09

Yikes. Does that spot not get much sun?

Fleur405 · 27/05/2023 20:11

Yeah you need to prune them back hard to stop them getting leggy and otherwise ignore them

swanling · 27/05/2023 20:15

To me, that doesn't look like a plant that missed pruning/needs more pruning, it looks like a plant in poor health barely hanging on to life.

lovemycottage · 27/05/2023 20:17

Prune it as leave it for a few months.

Original poster

Maggiethecat · 27/05/2023 20:23

It gets a fair amount of sun; the agapanthus looks it’s coming back up and dahlia did well in that area last year.
will try a hard prune and see how it gets on

OP posts:

Pushpull · 27/05/2023 22:40

I'd give it a hard prune too but I think it's tricky once you have so much wood to plant ratio to every really get it back. Worth a try though.

Hazelnuttella · 27/05/2023 22:42

They don’t look very happy at all. Have you been watering them? If so, stop.

KnittedCardi · 27/05/2023 22:47

Lavendar are super forgiving. I have some in pots which never get any love, (or watering) at all and stay outside all year. Just a hard prune after they flower.

A suggestion. Dig one up and see if it has big white grubs in the roots. Could be vine weevil.

Jellybean23 · 27/05/2023 23:00

Lavender should not be cut back hard into the old wood, it needed trimming after flowering last year. I don't think it will ever look as good again as it did last year.
Here's a video from the RHS.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/videos/advice/pruning-lavender

https://www.rhs.org.uk/videos/advice/pruning-lavender

Melroses · 27/05/2023 23:18

Yes - prune back to the lowest new shoot. It likes full sun and poor soil which I have in abundance and hates waterlogging.

Hidcote does very well here - I have some over 30 years old.Maybe there is a variety that prefers your conditions?

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