Daily gardening tip · Northern hemisphere · Tuesday 22 September 2026 · early autumn
Trim Dead Lavender Flower Spikes
Snipping away spent lavender blooms now prevents your plant from getting woody and sprawling before winter.
5 minuteseasypruning
Locate the dried, brown flower stalks on your lavender bush.
Follow a stalk down to the first set of green leaves.
Use sharp hand shears to snip the stem just above those green leaves.
Avoid cutting into the old, hard wood at the base of the plant.
Repeat this across the bush until all dead flower stems are removed.
Why it works
Removing old flower stalks stops the plant from wasting energy on producing seeds. It also encourages a tighter, mounded growth habit that helps the bush withstand heavy winter rain and wind without splitting open.
A perennial herbaceous plant characterized by its basal rosette of darkly mottled or 'bloody' spotted leaves and yellow dandelion-like flower heads. It typically inhabits rocky woodlands and open slopes across Europe.
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Renowned early American botanist John Bartram died in 1777
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