Gardeners urged to not leave pruning lavender ‘too late’ or risk ‘leggy and twiggy’ plant
Pruning lavender is an important job if you don't want to end up with "leggy" growth. According to a TikTok gardener, now is the time to get the secateurs out.
Michael, who goes by @themediterraneangardener on TikTok, has nearly 250,000 followers he shares his advice.
The gardener recently shared an important warning for anyone who is growing lavender in their gardens.
In a recent video, the expert said: “Don’t leave this job too late gardeners, now is the time to prune your lavender.
“Nobody wants a lavender that’s gone leggy and twiggy just because you didn’t get the pruning at the proper time.
“This is very much a mid-to-late summer activity. I get the feeling some believe this to be a late autumn activity as you are getting the garden ready for winter.”
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When to prune plants in the summer is entirely dependent on the plant at hand, but Michael shared some important things to look out for.
This includes looking for when the flowers are going past their best, but not waiting until they are turning brown.
Michael said his lavender in the garden was ready for a prune. He added: “You can prune as hard as you like as long as you leave some new growth beneath the cutting point.”
The gardener zoomed in on his lavender to show viewers the difference between the old and new wood, and where he would be cutting to.
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If you do cut down into the old wood, that area may not regrow and may result in a total loss of plants, so it’s important to be careful.
The TikTok star noted: “The idea is to create a nice compact shape. So there we have it that’s our lavender now nicely pruned.
“It’s going to continue to grow, it will put on probably another two inches or so worth of growth but that’s ok, we leave that.
“That growth will protect over winter and then come next year this is in a good compact shape ready to put out some new flower buds for you to enjoy.”
Other plants to prune in July include rambling roses, according to gardening expert Monty Don.
In his recent blog, the expert wrote: “Many ramblers are best grown into a tree and these can be left unpruned apart from straggly, unkempt growth.
“However if space is limited or you are training the rose in any way, this year’s new shoots should be tied in or cut back according to the circumstance.
“Remove any damaged or very old shoots, cutting them back to the ground.” Gardeners should also tie in any loose growth and mulch well.
