Gardeners shouldn’t be slacking on their tasks to keep their lavenders happy and healthy for the rest of the year
It’s crucial for green-fingered enthusiasts to stay on top of their gardening tasks to ensure their plants remain vibrant and thriving as we approach the tail end of summer. Michael, better known as the Mediterranean Gardener on TikTok, has shared a handy checklist of jobs that should be tackled in August.
One key tip revolves around lavender, which is nearing the close of its blooming season. Given that lavender blossoms from late spring through to summer, neglecting proper care can lead to a woody appearance, so it’s essential to maintain their compactness.
Here’s what Michael suggests doing with your lavender this August, reports the Express.
Lavende
For those cultivating lavender in their gardens, Michael advises that regular pruning is the secret to keeping the plant healthy and ensuring it continues to flourish year after year. He recommends carrying out this task post-flowering.
Flowering usually wraps up between August and September. To keep your lavender plants in prime condition and boost their chances of blooming annually, it’s advisable to give them a ‘hard’ prune.
The Royal Horticultural Society suggests removing any wilted flower stalks along with roughly 2.5cm (1in) of leaf growth. If you notice your plants are looking a bit dishevelled or have suffered frost damage during winter, it’s a good idea to trim back the foliage come spring.
However, be careful not to prune too aggressively down to the woody stems, as lavender struggles to produce new growth from old wood. While trimming your lavender, Michael recommends taking softwood cuttings from the plant, which also applies to other woody herbs like rosemary.
Failing to prune your lavender correctly can lead to the plant becoming ‘leggy’. A ‘leggy’ lavender plant is one that has long, thin, and often woody stems with fewer leaves and blossoms than a well-pruned, flourishing plant.
Garden designer Ish shared some wisdom in a TikTok video: “So at the end of summer, you give it something known as a summer prune, where you take the big bunches of it off and cut a really good third of it right down.
“By stunting that growth, it’ll develop a thicker side shoot, get nice and bushy, but not tall and leggy, keeping it nice and happy, and no woody bits.”
