In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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February 11, 2008

Lavender woes

Q: We recently bought a home in Lincoln. We have a hedge about 3 feet high of lavender along a fence area on north side of lot. It was planted in late 2002.
The lavender has a very woody base of about 6 inches with little new growth or leaves, but the top was growing and filling out well. However, recently it got well trampled by workmen repairing a fence. It needs help.
Should I prune it heavily and try to let it come back or dig it up and start over?
Barbara Marquardt, Lincoln

A: I love lavender. I love the plant. I love the flowers. I love the scent.

Lavender is beautiful, tough, drought tolerant once established and pretty forgiving.

Years ago I sold bouquets of lavender at the Auburn Farmer’s Market, so each Friday evening I’d cut lavender, bring it into the kitchen and put together the bouquets. My entire kitchen would be scented with lavender. Today I have lavender flanking the path into the vegetable garden. Its long stems hang into the paths so I have to walk through them. I walk slowly, close my eyes and breathe deeply. Amazing.

Try lavender paired with something electric yellow like euphorbia, and you’ve got a winning combination. Plus, lavender will send up two or three successions of bloom. The first flowers will be on stout stems, long strong. The next periods of bloom will be on smaller stems and the flowers will be smaller.

But, and you knew there had to be a “but,” didn’t you? Lavender does have its drawbacks.

The older it gets, the woodier it gets. The woodier it gets, the harder it is for it to break dormancy and grow and bloom profusely year after year. By the time it’s six or eight years old, it’s about done, especially if it wasn’t pruned properly from the start. Even pruned and grown properly, lavender has a lifespan of eight or ten years, tops, before it needs to be replanted.

Years ago I was visiting a lavender farm, and the grower told me the secret to keeping it growing as long as a decade, maybe more, is to cut it back severely after flowering.

I’ve grown and lost enough lavender plants over the years, so figured I’d try her approach. Once the flowers are spent, I prune my lavender back to short mounds, probably no more than six inches tall. So far, so good.

If I were you, I'd be tempted to replace the entire hedge since now it's not only old, it's damaged. If you replant the hedge, after the first year cut the new lavender plants back to just a few inches above the woody part. Each year thereafter, trim it back after it blooms.

If you want to try and save it for a year or two longer, I’d go ahead and prune it now to remove the damaged stems and clean it up. Prune it as far back as you dare. Then it’s wait and see. If it comes back beautifully, get it on a pruning schedule. You might be able to get a few more years out of it, but the flowers won't be as spectacular or as plentiful as they would on younger plants.

To me, it's worth the trouble of having to replace it every six or eight years.

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