On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 13:23:45 +0100, "Oxymel of Squill"
wrote:

yep, hack it back as far as you dare and a little bit further, otherwise
next year's will grow on an ugly stump of dead wood

"aka Robbie" wrote in message
...
How far back can I prune my lavender? I have five plants and all have
grown
to about twice the size I would like them to be. Now that the flowers are
going off would it be ok to cut them right back?




I have read 5 replies to the original posting. They do vary a bit!
Anyway my advice is to wait until the bees show little interest in
the lavender and then use a hedge cutter to cut the lavender back
(top and sides) to the point at which there is a 50/50 mixture of
this year's growth and old wood.

We did this a couple of weeks ago and there is plenty of evidence of
new growth, even from the old wood. Franz mentioned "Spent" wood.
Perhaps this is wood more than a couple of years old which may well
not grow any new shoots.

Using the treatment that I have described, our lavender hedge has
thrived for over 20 years and every year it bushes out to just over
two feet high by two feet wide.

Peter