Lavenders (Lavendula spp.) are semi-shrubs, meaning that they produce green growth every spring, like all perennials, but older stem become woody as the plant grows older. Understanding this helps you to correctly prune lavenders.

Lavenders tend to get leggy as they get older so it is a good idea to prune them every year to keep them healthy. The best time to prune is after they have flowered, i. e. late summer or early fall but they can also be pruned in late winter or early spring.

Spring pruning is good for removing any parts of the plant that have suffered winter damage. Cut back the shrub to about 1/3 of its original height but do not cut down to the woody area as old wood will not generate new green growth. Leaving 3 or 4 buds above the woody part of a stem is a good rule.

If you harvest lavender flowers in early summer for display or to extract lavender oil, then you may get a second round of blooms later in the summer. Newly planted lavenders should be pruned in the second year of growth in order to give the plant time to became established.