Encourage dead lavender to bloom by cleaning it

Encourage dead lavender to bloom by cleaning it

Clean off the faded lavender

As a rule, the potted lavender begins to open its distinctive flowers as early as May and give off an intense, characteristic smell. This scent mainly attracts butterflies, but also hungry bees and bumblebees. With good care, this type of lavender will show its flowers well into September - but only if you cut off the faded stems regularly. In this way you encourage the plant to continue to bloom, after all it will strive to produce seeds.

also read

  • Hibernating potted lavender - this is how you get your plants through the winter
  • Coppy lavender has a long flowering period
  • It is better to overwinter the potted lavender in a pot

Pruning lavender in summer

If cleaning out doesn't help, then, as with other types of lavender, pruning in summer can help. This should be done by the end of July if possible, whereby the flowers do not have to have faded by a long way. With the summer pruning cut the plant down by about a third. Stay in the green shoots when cutting, because the lavender will no longer sprout from the woody parts. Use a clean, sharp cutting tool (such as a pair of rose shears) to avoid unnecessarily squeezing or otherwise damaging the branches.

Harvest poppy lavender

If you want to harvest the blooming lavender flowers, you shouldn't wait until they have faded. Lavender flowers should be harvested before they have fully bloomed. You can tell that the time is right when some buds of the panicle have already opened while others remain closed. The best time to harvest is around lunchtime, when it's nice and warm and dry. Cut off the desired amount of flowers including the stem, then you can further process them according to your taste. The fresh leaves - if young - are suitable as a sparingly used spice in the kitchen, the flowers can be dried or braided together with the stems.

Tips & Tricks

Sometimes the lavender is a bit lazy to flower. This is mostly due to unfavorable site conditions, the wrong soil and / or poor maintenance.

IJA