Lavender looking a bit ...shook

Conology

Hi
I have a nice lot of Lavender planted overhanging a small stone wall.
I cut it back last autum after it flowered and it now looks very woody at the bottom and very little growth around the top,
Just wonder have I done damage to it by cutting too much maybe?
Any suggestions ?
Is it likely to recover this year?

Thanks

looksee

If it was old and woody when you cut it back, you might have a problem, but in general it is fine to cut lavender back - that is how it is harvested.

Really all you can do is wait and see, as the weather gets warmer give it a feed and hope for the best.

pwurple

How old are the plants? Lavender is a fairly short lived plant in my experience. They can get very woody at about the 5 year mark, especially if cut hard. They could probably limp along looking a bit straggly for another few years, but I usually have cuttings on the go, so I tend to swap them out for younger ones when they get to that point.

Northumbria

If it was "English Lavender" (Lavendula augustifolia) then cutting it back is fine, but some others like "French Lavender (Lavendula stoechas) shouldn't be hard pruned. Hidcote and Munstead are two common varieties of the "English Lavender".
As for its life span, it is long lived in a dry climate. It dislike's sitting in wet soil, it must be free draining. This is usually why it dies. But it always looks a bit crap after winter anyway.
Also, as Lavender grows it usually abandons it's older growth which becomes woody and ugly and grows outwards. This is why they're pruned to keep a good appearance.
It'll probably put on new growth as the weather warms up, leave it for a few months.

Conology

That's great thank you