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Lavender Hedge


Guest Mrs murphymoo

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Guest Mrs murphymoo

Hi guys, I wonder if someone can help me - I have grown a very beautiful lavender hedge in our garden and its now really well established and produces lots of flowers every year.

The problem I have this year is that the sheer weight of the flower heads is splitting the lavender plants apart, so the are sort of parted down the middle with all the flowers tilted off to the sides.

Is there any way to prevent this happening? As it is starting to look a little scrappy. Or has the hedge reached its peak and now on a decline?

Any hints or tips?

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Posted
  • Location: Lindum Colonia
  • Location: Lindum Colonia

you could try tying the plant? How old are the plants? are the exposed branches woody? if not it may grow from the middle.

I had a white lavender that did that, fortunately it grew out of the middle as it was fairly young. It looks great now because one side has reverted and it's half white - half purple :)

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Guest Mrs murphymoo

I think that I answered my own question - and your comments have just confirmed it FP - I think the plants are getting past their natural life :) as the lower branches are a bit woody. *sigh*

Will probably transplant them in the autumn and get some new plants in next spring.

Meanhile - will try sort of tying them together and see if that helps them a bit.

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Posted
  • Location: Nr Appleby in Westmorland
  • Location: Nr Appleby in Westmorland

Lavender won't grow from old wood, so yes, you're going to need to replace the plants. What you should do each year though is remove the previous year's growth in the autumn or spring to keep them young and beautiful.....two things which you need no advice on Mrs Moo.

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Guest Mrs murphymoo

OON you charmer ... :)

I do trim the lavenders each year - but perhaps I havent trimmed them harshly enough in the past :)

Oh well, they can be moved in the autumn and new plants can go in :)

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Guest Sir Seany
OON you charmer ... :)

I do trim the lavendars each year - but perhaps I havent trimmed them harshly enough in the past :)

Oh well, they can be moved in the autumn and new plants can go in :)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You should also harvest the flowerheads each year, and stick in a pot in your living room, it smells very nice but not as potent as potpourri :)

If you could post a picture up we would probably have a better idea of what to do, but it sounds like you plants are getting too lanky, sometimes you need to be very violent when you trim them back in the autumn, i remember doing it last year and entire braches came off, all so they would grow back to be better in the spring and summer next year.

We are having troubles with a Cornflower, and a Curry Plant, but i think it has been decided we are getting rid of both and getting soemthing which doesn't come apart at the seams.

Lavender Hedges are very nice, i wish i had one, because they do smell so nice, i remember also a a wedding last year there was an avenue of lavenders in the gardens at the reception, you had to be careful of the bees though!

Yes i garden now :)

Sean :):)

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Posted
  • Location: Reigate, Surrey 78m asl
  • Location: Reigate, Surrey 78m asl

When we moved into our rented gorund floor flat, the garden was obviously one which was tended about 5 years ago and then had been left. Last autumn I chopped everything, roses, lavender, heather, clematis, etc nearly to the ground - now it all seems to be flourishing!

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Posted
  • Location: St. Albans, Herts
  • Location: St. Albans, Herts
When we moved into our rented gorund floor flat, the garden was obviously one which was tended about 5 years ago and then had been left. Last autumn I chopped everything, roses, lavender, heather, clematis, etc nearly to the ground - now it all seems to be flourishing!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I read somewhere that one of the best ways to prune is with a chain saw!!! Apparently roses, especially, love it.... :):)

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Posted
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
  • Weather Preferences: Thunder, snow, heat, sunshine...
  • Location: Beccles, Suffolk.
Lavender won't grow from old wood, so yes, you're going to need to replace the plants. What you should do each year though is remove the previous year's growth in the autumn or spring to keep them young and beautiful.....two things which you need no advice on Mrs Moo.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I cut my lavender back to the bare wood - and, it shot-up all over the bloody lawn! It may not grow from old wood - but, it certainly grows from its roots! :):)

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Posted
  • Location: Reigate, Surrey 78m asl
  • Location: Reigate, Surrey 78m asl
I read somewhere that one of the best ways to prune is with a chain saw!!! Apparently roses, especially, love it.... :)   :)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wow! Well I've worked uot that if you dead head an old rose flower back to the firest 5 leaved shoot, you get lots more flowers! :)

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Posted
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'
  • Location: Sth Staffs/Shrops 105m/345' & NW Snowdonia 219m/719'
I read somewhere that one of the best ways to prune is with a chain saw!!! Apparently roses, especially, love it.... :)   :)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They would have to be really thick rose branches to cut with a chain saw! They'd go flying everywhere!

A lot of plants benefit from being cut back hard. I'm a bit of wuss as I'm frightend of killing the things off whereas Mrs Kar always gives her clematis a good seeing to and its blooming nicely again this summer.

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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District. 290 mts a.s.l.
  • Weather Preferences: Anything extreme
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District. 290 mts a.s.l.

Rather than having the expense of buying new Lavender plants you can take your own cuttings which will grow quite readily.

Once the Lavender has finished flowering, cut off all the dead flowers and take cuttings about 3 inches long from new shoots which are just beginning to harden. Put the cuttings in small pots (2-3") containing seedling compost mixed with small grit. The cuttings should have about half their length buried in the compost.

Keep them moist and they'll root in about 3 weeks and will be ready to plant out next Spring.

T.M

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Posted
  • Location: Chichester, West Sussex
  • Location: Chichester, West Sussex

English Lavender does in fact benefit for a rigorous pruning.

You should prune it every year just after its finished flowering. Every three or four years you should hard prune it.

I used to with my Action man in my gran’s lavender plants at the bottom of her garden in the early 70s and those plants are still going strong 30 years on and she butchers the poor things every year.

You can split lavender plants and cutting the roots encourages new root growth.

And, yu can take cuttings

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Guest Mrs murphymoo

Perhaps I'll try taking some cuttings, then pruning the things right back and see what happens :angry:

Kar - I know what you mean about clematis loving a hard pruning - my dog chewed a gorgeous clematis right back to the root (little git), yet it sprouted up and this year has shown its best and most vigerous growth and has been loaded with flowers! Amazing - I shall be hacking at it again come the autumn if this is the result ;)

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  • 2 months later...
Posted
  • Location: Portland, Dorset
  • Weather Preferences: Mixed winters and springs, thundery summers and meditteranean autumns
  • Location: Portland, Dorset
Perhaps I'll try taking some cuttings, then pruning the things right back and see what happens :p

Kar - I know what you mean about clematis loving a hard pruning - my dog chewed a gorgeous clematis right back to the root (little git), yet it sprouted up and this year has shown its best and most vigerous growth and has been loaded with flowers!  Amazing - I shall be hacking at it again come the autumn if this is the result :(

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It may be a good idea to hack the clematis in late February or March instead. An autumn 'cull' might kill it! :angry:

After pruning, give it a thick mulch of compost to keep the roots cool and damp for the summer. A general fertiliser will also help it to excel! :)

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  • 3 years later...
You can split lavender plants and cutting the roots encourages new root growth.

I moved into a new condo last year where the previous owner's wife had a lovely lavender plant, lots of mint, and a big hydrangea. I actually had 3 full flowerings of the lavender, but it's getting very huge (about 4' circumference) and I'd like to split it.

I've read how to do cuttings, and I will do so later this spring, so that I can share this vigorous, healthy, lovely plant...but...does anyone know the right time to split the plant apart? Spring or fall? I plan to keep half where it is, and put the other half at the other end of my garden space. YUM!

Thanks for your help, I've looked for this info EVERYWHERE.

---pam

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Posted
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District. 290 mts a.s.l.
  • Weather Preferences: Anything extreme
  • Location: Derbyshire Peak District. 290 mts a.s.l.

To be honest I've never had much success in splitting Lavender plants and particularly not with old and mature specimens, the majority of which tend to grow multiple stems from one main rootstock which would be severely damaged by any attempts to split it.

An alternative is to layer some of the branches. Bend the branches until they touch the soil and peg down firmly, over a season they will root and can then be severed from the parent plant and transplanted.

Apart from that it's cuttings. Best taken in late April or May, they root easily in any good, well drained compost and grow quickly once established.

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