Today I thought I would share with you a few photographic examples demonstrating how I trim back first-year lavender plants that grew ‘as they wished’ over a first full growing season.

In these examples is Lavandula Angustifolia ‘Seal’ (variety).

‘Seal’ lavender plants were available during the summer of 2020 at the Farm Gate with a safe shop online option and safe Farm Gate pick up system.

First Year ‘Seal’ Lavender. I don’t usually allow them to bloom the first year but I kept one un-cut as an example.

‘Seal’ was propagated in 2019 and over-wintered inside my greenhouse before being potted-up for the 2020 season.

Please also note that while the lavender in the examples is photographed in a pot, this was done for demonstration purposes only. Lavender planted in pots will not survive the winter (in my growing zone 5a) unless the pots are buried deeply inside a protective greenhouse.

Trimming Lavender Example one:

Note: To enlarge photos (and read my comments) click the first photo of each example and then scroll right through the remaining photos.

I’ll even this one out as it is left side heavy

It’s branching out above my shears so I’ve decided to trim above this area

I took a little off the left side too…not too much; about 2 inches off the top

Example two:

This lavender plant has a couple ‘leggy’ stems shooting out.

I cut back this entire stem to the main ‘trunk’ of the plant.

And I took a little trim off the top of the longest stems of about an inch.

Example three:

This little plant is struggling. This one will require drastic measures.

Look at how wiggly this branch has grown! I will cut this entire piece out.

Now that the wiggly branch is cut out I don’t like the shape of the plant and will cut at the arrow

With the large branch cut out the main part of the plant, although considerably smaller, will hopefully retain more energy to survive another winter.

Here is something to look for on your plants when deciding where to trim:

You may see a difference in colour on the main stems of lavender plants. Darker towards the ‘woody’ lower part of the stem and lighter and softer towards the new growth. In the fall I like to trim at or above the new growth.

Good luck with your fall gardening and remember growing and caring for lavender is a labour of love and it takes time. A lavender plant takes at least 3 years to grow to full maturity. The steps you take during these early years to slowly trim and shape your plants will help them to grow into a classic lavender pincushion shape.

Third year Hidcote

Second year Phenomenal

Second year Phenomenal

And a final tip…you may wish to cover your young lavender plants during their first winter to help insulate them from any freeze/thaw cycle(s). The three plants in the above photos were covered last winter (winter 2019). I simply covered them with over-turned large plastic pots. These pots also prevented them from being crushed under the weight of snow that, in my circumstance, gets dumped in this same area by the snow plough.