How to Prune Lavender Plants in Every Season

1. Prune Young Lavender Plants

   Start pruning lavender plants while they're still young. Begin by pinching off tips of new growth. The young plant will respond with dense branching which helps form a good shape and a lot of blooming growth to work with as it matures. Waiting until the second year after planting to prune will cause the plant to form woody growth that can't be shaped as nicely.

2. Pruning Established Lavender Plants

   Heavily prune established lavender, cutting back all stems by at least a third after the plant is finished flowering for the season (the exact time for this varies depending on the lavender variety and your local climate). Expect lavender in full sun to grow vigorously each year, so take this opportunity to reform your plants into the green mounds that are lavender’s signature shape.

   Tip

   You can use hand pruners or pruning shears. Shears are less precise than hand pruners, but they save time and may be necessary when you are creating or maintaining a lavender hedge. Keep your bypass pruners clean and sharp when pruning the woody stems of your lavender. Using a dull blade may cause bruising or damage: you want as clean a cut as possible.

3. Pruning Lavender That Is Woody

   Continue to heavily prune old plants, but don’t cut down to leafless wood. It is not possible to rejuvenate plants by cutting into old wood, but try to rejuvenate them by pruning to points just above the wood. A good rule of thumb is to count to the third node (a raised bump from which leaves grow) above the woody part and then cut just above it. If you are lucky, all three nodes, as well as some hidden nodes buried in the wood, will wake up and grow for you.

How to Prune Different Types of Lavender

Identifying your lavender variety and tailoring pruning to that specific type will help you get more return for your efforts. There are three common types of lavender:

Lavandula angustifolia

English lavender comes in many varieties, including 'Hidcote' and 'Munstead'. This lavender has single, leafless stems and compact spikes of blossoms. It is generally low growing and has a compact, mounded shape.

English lavender blooms in late spring to early summer. It's best to prune it lightly just after its first flowering, as this will likely encourage it to flower again in late summer. Prune the spent flower spikes at this time.

After the second flowering, a full pruning of the spent flowers and any damaged stems—typically in late August—will prepare it for winter and encourage more blooms in spring.

Hybrid Lavender

Hybrids of English and Portuguese lavender (Lavandula x intermedia), also known as lavandin, come in many varieties. The most common varieties are 'Grosso', 'Provence', and 'Giant Hidcote'. The flower spikes also are longer than those of English lavender, and they have a graceful taper. Lavandins are mounded in shape and usually larger than English lavender with long stems that tend to fan out from the center.

Lavandins bloom in mid to late summer, so giving these plants a full pruning after the long blooming season will prepare them for winter. Because of the long stems, you might need to prune as much as half the plant’s size.

Lavandula stoechas

Spanish lavender, also known as French lavender, is the least hardy of the lavenders with blooms appearing early in spring. It has a short, full flower spike with open petals at the top, distinguishing it from other types.

Because of its fragility, this lavender should be very lightly pruned—never too close to the base—just after the first flowering. Then, follow up with gentle deadheading (removing spent flowers) and shaping for the rest of the season. A slightly more vigorous pruning in late August is optional; it prepares the plant for winter and encourages a fuller plant in spring.