I have an old Lavender which has become thick and woody at the bottom
with all new growth + flowers etc. at the top - probably due to
overgrown surrounding plants preventing light + moisture.
How far can I safely cut it back and when would be the best time of
year to do it ?

Thanks for any help

"frankie" wrote in message
...
I have an old Lavender which has become thick and woody at the
bottom
with all new growth + flowers etc. at the top - probably due to
overgrown surrounding plants preventing light + moisture.
How far can I safely cut it back and when would be the best time of
year to do it ?

Early autumn. Cut back as hard as you please as long as there is
still a sign of new growth below your cut.. Lavender does not
usually regenerate itself from old wood.

"frankie" wrote in message
...
I have an old Lavender which has become thick and woody at the
bottom
with all new growth + flowers etc. at the top - probably due to
overgrown surrounding plants preventing light + moisture.
How far can I safely cut it back and when would be the best time of
year to do it ?

Early autumn. Cut back as hard as you please as long as there is
still a sign of new growth below your cut.. Lavender does not
usually regenerate itself from old wood.

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:25:28 GMT, frankie
wrote:

I have an old Lavender which has become thick and woody at the bottom
with all new growth + flowers etc. at the top - probably due to
overgrown surrounding plants preventing light + moisture.
How far can I safely cut it back and when would be the best time of
year to do it ?

My daughter had one similar when she moved to a new house. This is
what she did: She dug it up, dug a big hole, and replanted the
lavender with a lot of the woody part below groung. Knowing her she
filled in with good stuff and bonemeal. That was at least 18 months
ago and this year it is looking wonderful, about 2 feet high an full
of flower.
You can do the same with heathers, but lavender will not sprout from
woody growth. If you keep it trimmed each year, it wil stay compact.

Pam in Bristol

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:25:28 GMT, frankie
wrote:

I have an old Lavender which has become thick and woody at the bottom
with all new growth + flowers etc. at the top - probably due to
overgrown surrounding plants preventing light + moisture.
How far can I safely cut it back and when would be the best time of
year to do it ?

My daughter had one similar when she moved to a new house. This is
what she did: She dug it up, dug a big hole, and replanted the
lavender with a lot of the woody part below groung. Knowing her she
filled in with good stuff and bonemeal. That was at least 18 months
ago and this year it is looking wonderful, about 2 feet high an full
of flower.
You can do the same with heathers, but lavender will not sprout from
woody growth. If you keep it trimmed each year, it wil stay compact.

Pam in Bristol

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:25:28 GMT, frankie
wrote:

I have an old Lavender which has become thick and woody at the bottom
with all new growth + flowers etc. at the top - probably due to
overgrown surrounding plants preventing light + moisture.
How far can I safely cut it back and when would be the best time of
year to do it ?

Thanks for any help

For years we have cut back out lavender as soon as the bees find the
flowers to be lacking interest. In fact we did the job earlier this
week (we live in North Staffordshire).

Our technique is to use the electric hedge cutter and cut the
lavender back until we reach a mixture of old wood and new growth.
We normally cut about 10 inches off the top.

The same technique is used for top and sides, although we cut rather
less off the sides. Now have a rectangular section hedge which
looks a bit sad but which will bush out nicely next year - at least
this is what it has done for some 25 years.

Peter

On Sat, 31 Jul 2004 13:25:28 GMT, frankie
wrote:

I have an old Lavender which has become thick and woody at the bottom
with all new growth + flowers etc. at the top - probably due to
overgrown surrounding plants preventing light + moisture.
How far can I safely cut it back and when would be the best time of
year to do it ?

Thanks for any help

For years we have cut back out lavender as soon as the bees find the
flowers to be lacking interest. In fact we did the job earlier this
week (we live in North Staffordshire).

Our technique is to use the electric hedge cutter and cut the
lavender back until we reach a mixture of old wood and new growth.
We normally cut about 10 inches off the top.

The same technique is used for top and sides, although we cut rather
less off the sides. Now have a rectangular section hedge which
looks a bit sad but which will bush out nicely next year - at least
this is what it has done for some 25 years.

Peter

If this is old ,it will probably be well past its best!Why keep something
that looks awful when you could replace it with some of the lovely new
varieties?
I grew some from seed and it is easy to do.
Recycle the old plant in the shredder !

Roy

If this is old ,it will probably be well past its best!Why keep something
that looks awful when you could replace it with some of the lovely new
varieties?
I grew some from seed and it is easy to do.
Recycle the old plant in the shredder !

Roy

If this is old ,it will probably be well past its best!Why keep something
that looks awful when you could replace it with some of the lovely new
varieties?
I grew some from seed and it is easy to do.
Recycle the old plant in the shredder !

Roy

I think that Roy has made a good point, there are a great many of us
that hang on to old plants out of sentimental reasons, daft innit. Why
not take cuttings from the old plant and then send it off to the great
garden in the sky :-)

kate

"Kate Morgan" wrote in message
. ..
If this is old ,it will probably be well past its best!Why keep
something
that looks awful when you could replace it with some of the lovely new
varieties?
I grew some from seed and it is easy to do.
Recycle the old plant in the shredder !

Roy

I think that Roy has made a good point, there are a great many of us
that hang on to old plants out of sentimental reasons, daft innit. Why
not take cuttings from the old plant and then send it off to the great
garden in the sky :-)

kate

Earlier on this year, the garden of my late Mother's bungalow which we were
trying to sell was really overgrown. We decided that because we couldn't
afford to employ someone to do the garden that we would pull up what we
could, chop all the rose & other bushes down to about 6" and then everything
else was chopped off at ground level.
Some 6 months later, the garden is totally overgrown again, we are due to
complete sale next week, but the lavender is absolutely georgous and the
rose bushes are in full flower.
Just goes to show that you don't need to read all the books; plants grow.
Pity the new owners though, loads of creeping jenny about the place.
I might add that wife and I are both disabled and to us the best garden is a
slab of concrete.
When I sell my present house after it has hadf some work done on it, I do
fancy having a go at growing some spuds and other veg. Seen my brother do it
on his allotment and I think I could cope with that.
--
troubleinstore
http://www.tuppencechange.co.uk
Personal mail can be sent via website.
Email address in posting is ficticious and is intended as spam trap




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Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
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"Kate Morgan" wrote in message
. ..
If this is old ,it will probably be well past its best!Why keep
something
that looks awful when you could replace it with some of the lovely new
varieties?
I grew some from seed and it is easy to do.
Recycle the old plant in the shredder !

Roy

I think that Roy has made a good point, there are a great many of us
that hang on to old plants out of sentimental reasons, daft innit. Why
not take cuttings from the old plant and then send it off to the great
garden in the sky :-)

kate

Earlier on this year, the garden of my late Mother's bungalow which we were
trying to sell was really overgrown. We decided that because we couldn't
afford to employ someone to do the garden that we would pull up what we
could, chop all the rose & other bushes down to about 6" and then everything
else was chopped off at ground level.
Some 6 months later, the garden is totally overgrown again, we are due to
complete sale next week, but the lavender is absolutely georgous and the
rose bushes are in full flower.
Just goes to show that you don't need to read all the books; plants grow.
Pity the new owners though, loads of creeping jenny about the place.
I might add that wife and I are both disabled and to us the best garden is a
slab of concrete.
When I sell my present house after it has hadf some work done on it, I do
fancy having a go at growing some spuds and other veg. Seen my brother do it
on his allotment and I think I could cope with that.
--
troubleinstore
http://www.tuppencechange.co.uk
Personal mail can be sent via website.
Email address in posting is ficticious and is intended as spam trap




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.732 / Virus Database: 486 - Release Date: 29/07/2004

In article , Kate Morgan
writes
If this is old ,it will probably be well past its best!Why keep something
that looks awful when you could replace it with some of the lovely new
varieties?
I grew some from seed and it is easy to do.
Recycle the old plant in the shredder !

Roy

I think that Roy has made a good point, there are a great many of us
that hang on to old plants out of sentimental reasons, daft innit. Why
not take cuttings from the old plant and then send it off to the great
garden in the sky :-)

I don't think it is daft. It may be a plant from a beloved relative, now
deceased; it may be a plant you bought on a day you want to remember.

Or it may be that you've cherished the plant from infancy and of course
you don't want to be the cause of its demise.

Or you don't want the hassle of raising seedlings or the expense of
buying new plants. In which case why not try to rejuvenate the original
plant?

New varieties aren't always better in all aspects. They may be less
robust, or they may have lost their scent, for example.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , Kate Morgan
writes
If this is old ,it will probably be well past its best!Why keep something
that looks awful when you could replace it with some of the lovely new
varieties?
I grew some from seed and it is easy to do.
Recycle the old plant in the shredder !

Roy

I think that Roy has made a good point, there are a great many of us
that hang on to old plants out of sentimental reasons, daft innit. Why
not take cuttings from the old plant and then send it off to the great
garden in the sky :-)

I don't think it is daft. It may be a plant from a beloved relative, now
deceased; it may be a plant you bought on a day you want to remember.

Or it may be that you've cherished the plant from infancy and of course
you don't want to be the cause of its demise.

Or you don't want the hassle of raising seedlings or the expense of
buying new plants. In which case why not try to rejuvenate the original
plant?

New varieties aren't always better in all aspects. They may be less
robust, or they may have lost their scent, for example.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On Sun, 1 Aug 2004 10:00:08 +0100, Kay
wrote:

I don't think it is daft. It may be a plant from a beloved relative, now
deceased; it may be a plant you bought on a day you want to remember.
Or it may be that you've cherished the plant from infancy and of course
you don't want to be the cause of its demise.

I don't think its daft either. Back in the early 1960's my father
bought a 30ft. Alton greenhouse and planted a grape - 'Muscat of
Alexandria' in it to grow along the sides and provide summer shade as
well as fruit. Some years later when my parents moved to another
house, I took cuttings which went into the new greenhouse. When
mother decided to sell up after my father died, I took cuttings for
planting against the south wall of her new home. Before she moved
again, I took cuttings and brought it down here. Being a heat loving
variety, it rarely performs that well in my very humid garden, but I
would hate to lose it and will no doubt take cuttings when I decide to
move. Sentimental? Yes certainly, but I make no apologies for that
nor do i feel that it is daft.


Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November