When should I prune my lavender plant?
Question:
Lavender! I have an established plant in my yard and the leaves are all silvery still, with some tiny green growth sporadically at the tips. I see in all literature online that you are looking for growth at the base so you can know where to prune on the length of the stem in the spring. But I see NO green anywhere along the stem, just at the very tip top? Please advise on when to prune and how at this point.
Answer:
Abi Griffith, Horticulture Community Education Assistant
Thanks for your question! You are right about looking for new growth lower down to help you with your pruning. I think you are going to want to wait a little bit more, as it is still a bit early for Lavender to really start leafing out. This answer from Purdue University touches on this “How far back to cut will depend on the amount of winter damage. In general, you want to cut back to healthy wood to encourage side branching. Wait until new growth is well underway to assess what has survived. Assuming there is active new growth, trim back live stems to healthy sections with live buds. Remove dead or damaged stems.”
So give it a little more time to really start regrowing (especially since it has been a pretty cool spring) and then you can be sure you are pruning dieback.