A gardening expert has urged budding gardeners to do one task when looking after their lavender to ensure the plant grows back bigger and ‘bushier’ in the future. Adam Kirtland, who goes by the name View From The Potting Bench on social media, shares helpful tips and some easy projects for green-fingered folks.
In a recent TikTok video, Adam detailed a simple task that can help keep lavender plants blooming, explaining that your lavender is in need of “some attention” this summer. This will help keep the plant healthy and avoid becoming leggy. This is what you should be doing to your lavender plants this July.
Adam said: “Right now lavender is looking incredibly lush, but if you want more blooms next year and some perks to enjoy this year, then you’ll want to make sure that you’re giving your bush a really good trim.”
The expert explained that July is a really good time of year to get ahead and snip off any lavender stems that have gotten too long. You’ll know when the stems are too long when they start to become woody and lack new growth near the base of the plant.
If the stems are left as they are, it can cause the lavender to become leggy and reduce the chance of flowering. Trimming lavender can help its perfume wafting through the air, as well as helping to keep the plant “tidier and busher” for next year.
Come armed with some string and a pair of secateurs. Make sure you don’t cut too deep into the plant’s woody stem, Adam warned.
He said: “Instead what you want to be doing is cutting about one or two inches just above that woody material, so still in that fresh new growth. What I personally do is tie a bit of string around a good bunch of lavender and then cut just below where I’ve tied on that string.
“Now that you’ve got this, don’t chuck it away, this is where the fun really starts.”
Once you’ve gathered your bunches of lavender, hang them in a dark space for a week or two. This will allow them to fry fully.
After the lavender bunches have dried, they can be placed into little pouches or under a pillow. Adam continued: “So, take my advice and cut back your lavender. Not just for the health of the plant, but because lavender deserves to be used and not just looked at.”