Few plants are as closely associated with English summers and gardens as lavender. Shakespeare understood its appeal, too. In The Winter's Tale, he includes "hot lavender" among the flowers Perdita hands out at the sheep-shearing feast, calling them "flowers of middle summer".
Four centuries on, little has changed. The purple flower spikes still perfume the warm air with their unmistakable fragrance and draw in pollinators all summer long. To keep it that way, a little care after flowering goes a long way. Here's what you need to do.
When to deadhead during flowering
The RHS says gardeners can "cut off spent blooms to encourage more to form". Depending on the variety, this may prompt a smaller second flush.
However, towards the end of the flowering season, the charity advises leaving some spent blooms in place, as their seeds provide food for seed-eating birds such as goldfinches.
How to prune lavender after flowering
"Left to their own devices, lavender can become woody and ungainly, so to keep plants compact and attractive, it's best to trim them annually in late summer, just after flowering has finished," says the RHS.
Prune lavender in late summer, soon after flowering finishes, rather than waiting until autumn.
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The RHS advises gardeners to "remove any spent flower stalks and about 2.5cm (1in) of leaf growth".
Beth Chatto Gardens gives similar advice, recommending "cutting off around 1–3cm, but not into old wood".
"Lavender does not break new growth easily from old stems," warns the RHS. Always leave green growth on each stem to give the plant the best chance of recovering.
After flowering: drainage is critical
Once flowering finishes, drainage becomes far more important than feeding. Lavender naturally thrives in dry, free-draining conditions and struggles in cold, wet ground, especially over winter. As Beth Chatto Gardens explains, excess moisture is its biggest enemy, making good drainage essential.
"Just stop their roots from becoming too wet," says Beth Chatto Gardens. It notes that poor drainage and winter wet are the biggest threats to lavender. "If you have a sunny position, with a well-drained soil, or grow them in a pot, or raised bed, or a coastal garden, they will be perfectly happy."
If your garden has heavy clay soil, grow lavender in a container or raised bed. Make sure the pot has drainage holes and use a gritty, free-draining compost.
There's no need to feed established lavender, either. The RHS says it naturally thrives in nutrient-poor soil and rarely benefits from fertiliser.
Take cuttings to grow more lavender
Want more lavender without spending a penny? Take hardwood cuttings in late autumn from the season's fresh growth. The RHS recommends this as an easy way to replace ageing plants and grow new ones for free.
Common lavender varieties
There’s nothing quite like the fresh, clean scent of lavender in bloom. The shrub’s delicate purple blooms and silvery-green leaves make a lovely addition to your garden or containers and don’t require a lot of care to thrive. Plus, if you want to enjoy it indoors, lavender makes wonderful fresh and dried arrangements and has lots of other uses in the home, too.
There are four common varieties of lavender:
- Spanish – pineapple-shaped flowers on leafy light-green spikes
- French – small purple flowers and silvery serrated leaves
- English – small, violet-coloured blooms on tall spikes
- Lavandin – a hybrid variety with strongly scented dark purple flowers
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