How to prune a woody lavender plant

Lavender is one of the biggest culprits for going woody and it's a common problem people come to us about. Learn some top tips to preventing your plants from going woody and in this particular video, learn how to treat a woody lavender plant.

[ComplacentOtter]

but you didn't tell us how to prune a woody lavender, you told us how to prevent a woody lavender...

[jimileahboulet]

So what do I do with the woody overgrown lavender plant? Mine is 5 years old and has very long woody stems... I don't know what do do.

[MrsGetOverYourself]

Wish he would actually do a tutorial on where to cut exactly, that would’ve been much more helpful

[goldengirl]

Isn't it terrific how even nursery professionals all vary with what they say will happen. You said you can't cut into the woody wood because the plant can die yet I just watched a Canadian master gardener do exactly that and her plant is shooting back all over.
I usually just cut mine whenever and however low I want because no two so called professionals can give you the same answer.

[kitcowling]

Can a plant get woody early on? I just got my plant about 2 months ago and it seems like the interior part recently got dry with brittle leaves. The top part of the stems are still green and seem fine.

[Milehih]

Some videos advise cutting back into the woody growth where there are green springs near the bottom. Other videos say not to or it will die. What's the correct way?

[honeyallnatural]

Does a woody lavander plant become more resistant to cold? Our lavander plants produce flowers all year long even if we haven't prunned them much, but I am worried that they will die off because the woody part has spread a lot. As a matter of fact we got a very woody lavander plant from a friend and it's not doing too good, so I was thinking of cutting some of the woody parts to see if it will do it some good. I know it's spring but might it help it?

[MarkAllan]

Can anything be done for a lavender that’s not been pruned for years, where the wood makes up half the plant? Do you just have to rip them out and start again? Mine are huge and the woody parts are almost an inch thick in spots.

[themadhatter]

How do you prune an already woody lavender like mine then?

[mavisemberson]

Which tool will cut the woody stems? A hand Horto sickle will not.

[mareaarries]

Can you plant the lavender deeper into the soil to cover more of the woody stems and maybe encourage new shoots to grow off the woody stems? Didn’t realise when I planted my lavender plants out that they were supposed to be cut back and don’t want to rip them out and start all over with new plants. They are in there third growing season now.

[ThePatchulee]

Hello, thank you for the video! I bought my first lavender potted plant late March/early April that was absolutely beautiful and in full bloom. I have been reading and watching various videos and it seems that it is time to cut the plant back. However, I have noticed many woody stems that do not have any growth on them. I follow an app that gives me the proper times for watering so I have not over watered but yet I do not seem to be having success. I would like to save the plant but each day it is looking woodier and woodier. I thought of repotting but is early May a good time? I am in Orlando Florida. The plant is kept on a patio that gets southwest sun. Someone told me not to keep it in the direct Florida sun so I moved the plant so that it gets late day sun. Any suggestions on what I can do? I did cut the flowers off once they were starting to change color, and made sachets out of the them! Thank you!

[jaymolyneux]

Hi there! If i have horizontal growth, I.e a wody stem that has filled in a gap, from an area where new lavender struggles to grow, due to shading etc - Can I submerge the woody stem that runs along the gorund, and get it to re -root somehow - closer to where it is flowering? that way I can pop a propogated bit, or a small new plant inbetween, whilst keeping all that healthy growth :) Thanks if you can help/ advise. It seems to pop up everywhere around the 'hedge' so I owuld have though, getting it to root from a 'hardwood stem' might just require technique. Thank you if anyone can advise.

[trueriches]

Mines is really woody wonder if I can cut back now or wait until this fall or so. It didn’t grow any flowers this summer.

[kenrichardson]

Hi my French Lavenders are getting quite big and woody and I just wondered, is it possible because of the exceptionally warm/hot Spring this year to trim them back now rather than August/September. The flowers are starting to go over now and it looks like it would do them good to trim early . What do you think - can it do any harm?

[jasonfleming]

Just to clarify, do you suggest to cut or trim back the green and keep the “dead looking” brownish part of the plant ?

[lvaroli]

Hello! I bought two very withered lavenders from a supermarket because I felt sorry for them. Should I cut the droopy flowers out to help it get stronger?

[musiclistener]

Thanks so much for the video! Just a question, after you prune the lavender, how long does it take the lavender stems to grow back?

[misschloes-w]

okay so what you are saying is cut off 90% of the green part and the plant will be okay? is that right?

also i have just gotten a new place where the last people let it overgrow to be woody, its summer here so can i cut it or do i have to wait for autumn? you never said if this is a plant that we can cut in different seasons? also is there a video where you actually show how far to cut back ? and when to not cut?

[amgp]

If I didn't prune in autum, can I prune by the end of winter, beginning of spring? My lavender is becoming very woody.