What to do with this lavender plant?

John57

This season like the previous five years, we’ve pruned our English lavender.

It’s grown strong 💪 and the target of concern is the largest plant in this hedge.

Now it has reached a woody stage. I guess there are a few options:

1. Radical destruction: pull it out and start again. I recently planted a new plant next to it and it looks soooo small.
2. Keep it as is in its current pruned state. The concern here is that this large plant is splitting apart as it grows woody.
3. Prune further down to the last few buds and hope it regrows.

Your advice is welcome and appreciated.

John

Not the gardener.

JacobZ

Hi @John57,

English lavender can become quite woody as it ages, and unfortunately it doesn't often respond well to being cut back into old wood. If there are still some healthy green shoots or visible buds lower down on the plant, you could try a slightly harder prune and see how it responds, but from what I can see, it looks like it is mainly woody in trouble spots.

It's also worth considering the timing. With winter now setting in, the plant's growth will be slowing considerably, so any hard rejuvenation pruning is less likely to produce a strong response until the weather warms in spring. If you were considering an aggressive cut-back, I'd be tempted to wait until late winter or early spring when the plant is preparing to put on new growth.

Given you've had around five years of strong growth from the plant, I'd be inclined to keep it for now if it's still flowering well and looking reasonably healthy.

Longer term, replacing it may be the best option. Many gardeners stagger replacements by planting a new lavender nearby, as you've already done, and then removing the older plant once the replacement has had time to establish and fill out a bit.

The good news is that your existing plant has given you several years of great service, which is a respectable lifespan for many lavenders.

Allow me to tag @mich1972, @LizzieCro and @Noelle to see what they think.

Jacob