A lavender that has served its years ends up bare at the centre, its long branches flopping outwards over watertight bark that buds can no longer break through. Cut it back into that old wood and it dies; take it a third at a time, or layer those long stems, and you can add another decade.
| Difficulty | high |
|---|---|
| Time | 3/4 years |
| Success rate | low |
| Main technique | hard pruning in thirds (⅓) |
| Secondary techniques | layering, cuttings, seeds |
Dealing with woody lavender is more difficult than for other shrubs. Proceed carefully, and you’ll add another decade of life to your beloved lavender plant!
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Lavender is not a plant that easily sprouts from old wood. Other shrubs can take severe pruning and hatracking, but pruning lavender too hard can kill it.
Professionals remove and replace them, but sentimental value is worth giving an old lavender a chance!
There are two ways to rejuvenate old, woody lavender:
A different strategy is to start a new plant from the old one, through:
Let’s take a look at each of these techniques!
Two techniques try to rejuvenate the old plant itself, two start a replacement from it. All of them begin with a basic trimming back, and none of them is quick.
| Technique | What you do | Timing | Keeps the original plant? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard pruning in thirds | Group long branches into three or four batches and cut one batch back to the trunk | One batch each year, over three to four years | Yes, if new sprouts take at the base |
| Layering | Bury a portion of a long stem under soil until it roots | Roots within a year, detach after one or two years | Yes, and it gives extra plants |
| “Donut method” | Spread branches star-fashion and bury the trunk in free-draining mix with gravel, then mulch | Wait a full year after new growth before cutting older branches off | Yes, but cutting too soon can kill it |
| Cuttings | Softwood tips or heel cuttings rooted in water or soil mix | Early to late spring | No, the cutting replaces the mother plant |
| Seeds | Collect seed from varieties that set it, such as ‘Munstead’, and sow in soft soil mix | Collected late summer, sown late winter | No, and most hybrids are sterile |
Whichever route you take, the plant will look like a work in progress for three or four years.
The goal is to cause your lavender to send out new shoots from the base.
What’s the secret for success?
⚠️ Sap must still circulate ⚠️
🌿 ✔️ ❌
Important: there should still be active, leafy branches to ensure sap circulation. Buds and shoots can only sprout along stems that have leaves at their tips.
A note about patience: all methods for rejuvenating lavender require time. Your lavender will look like a work in progress for 3-4 years. It won’t look nice but it’ll be fun to see it grow!
A grown plant has a strong, established root system, and careful pruning maximizes this advantage.
For each technique below, the first step is always a basic trimming back.
Grab a handful of branches and shorten them with sharp shears, then move on to the next handful. Stay in the “green leaf” zone: keep at least 3 in (8 cm) of leaves on live branches.
Over a few years, typically three or four, you can reduce the size of your lavender shrub. Since pruning all at once would kill the plant, spreading the pruning over several years is what makes it work.
The idea is to group long branches into three or four batches.
New sprouts will appear near the base, which you nurture until they replace the last of the older stems in year 3 (or 4).
Layering is when you bury a portion of a stem under soil. Roots develop within a year. The layered stem can be cut out from the mother plant after one or two years, and replanted.
Part of the “hard pruning” technique involves keeping longer stems over a few years, so double your chances by layering them. It won’t interfere with new sprouting from the crown itself, and you’ll have more plants to go around afterwards!
A variation of the layering method is to bury the trunk and main branches of the old lavender plant with potting mix. This is easy if the center is already bare with long branches falling over to every side.
With these techniques, you’ve got a reasonable chance of saving your doomed, woody lavender.
If you’re curious, below is a short overview explaining why lavender doesn’t grow back from old wood.
Lavender usually won’t grow back from old wood.
This means you shouldn’t cut lavender back too short, since it can’t grow back.
The one in the picture above/right died the next season. It might have survived with careful watering, but chances were low.
Cutting back the entire plant all the way to the woody part is too much of a shock for the plant. Why so? It’s the result of evolution and adaptation!
Lavender stems are very specialized.
This drought specialization came at the cost of propagation. Buds on old wood cannot sprout through the bark to turn into leaves and new stems.
Lavender is armed against grazing. thanks to its strong-tasting essential lavender oil.
Animals like deer and rabbits hate eating lavender leaves and stems of the plant.
Since it successfully repels foraging animals, lavender doesn’t need to grow back from the stump.
Instead of replacing your lavender with a new, store-bought lavender, you can propagate your existing lavender.
Cuttings – this is how professionals multiply lavender.
Seeds – Some lavender varieties also go to seed.
Most hybrids are sterile, like lavandin:
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Keep pruned woody stems and wrap other herbs around it to make a special “Mediterranean bouquet garni” for cooking!
Image credits: Rosalyn & Gaspard Lorthiois, own work
