advice on pruning hydrangea and lavender

Hello

I was hoping for a little steer on if/when I should prune hydrangeas and lavender (the butterfly type - french?)

My hydrangea flowers are drying off so think it is ok to cut them back (there is now growth coming through too)? But I keep reading that the lavender should be pruned back quite harsh in Autumn - but it is still flowers beautifully so it seems to wrong to do so?

I would really appreciate any help. I bought and planted them into the garden this year (bought as plants) if that makes any difference

Thank you

 

Hydrangeas - leave them be! The flower heads will gradually detach during winter winds. Pruning should be done in late Feb or March, depending where you are in the country. Only prune back to the top set of healthy buds, no further. Next yrs flowers will come on the growth it currently has.

Lavender, I don't grow, but I know you should avoid cutting into old wood.

 

The traditional advice with Lavender is to prune after flowering, but on a visit to a garden in Suffolk some years ago they said they cut theirs in late February early March, and they cut down to as close to old wood as possible without going into it. Their plants were some 50 years old and looked splendid, but on the Lavender farm in N Norfolk, they cut in Autumn after flowering, so your choice really. If they are still in flower I would wait, jut make sure there is no frost forecast

 

It depends which type of Hydrangea you have. H.macrophylla (mophead) varieties should be treated as @ViewAhead describes as they flower on old wood. H. paniculata varieties (eg Limelight) flower on new wood and can be pruned to your preferred height in spring or just left to get bigger, removing the faded flowers to tidy them up.

I normally prune my English lavender in late August, just taking the flowers and stalks off plus a couple of centimetres of the year's green foliage, avoiding cutting as far as the woody stems. This gives any new foliage time to grow and improve the look of the plants over winter. Some French varieties are not fully hardy and will need to be protected, depending on where you live.

(If you’re not sure which varieties of Hydrangea or lavender you have @MrsC2024, photos will help to provide you with an ID.)

 

I agree with advice about the hydrangeas (provided they are the mophead type).

As for the French lavenders, personally I would give them a light tidy up (removing spent flower stalks) around September. I believe French lavender isn't as hardy as the English type so you want to allow enough time for the wood to harden up. A lot depends on whereabouts you are and the microclimate in your garden might also have a bearing on it, so it might not be too late if you're quick .

 

What size/maturity are the plants @MrsC2024 ? It isn't always necessary to prune younger hydrangeas at all, but generally it's late winter/early spring for any pruning, depending on your location and the type, as others have said. Lavenders can also be difficult depending on location and conditions.

A photo will help though.

 

Super! Thank you so much for all the advice. I will get some pictures in the morning and upload.

Hydrangeas aren't large at all and I am in South Scotland... very wet and windy.... so far the lavenders have absolutely thrived right through the rubbish Summer and storms so far!! So I want to make sure I do things correctly so an not lose them hopefully

 

Hi.

Regarding the lavender, presumably you mean Stoechas. While that is sometimes referred to as French Lavender, most commonly it is referred to as Spanish Lavender. As @AnniD has already mentioned, they are not as hardy as some of the other types, so I wouldn't risk pruning them right before the cold weather starts (I would have done them in early September). But you can prune in very early spring

 

The problem with lavender here @MrsC2024 is - it grows very well through summer, with a lot of lush foliage due to the weather. Then it can be difficult because the temps. drop and the winter isn't so friendly for it, so they become woody very easily, even the tougher ones, so it's better to lightly trim back much earlier, even if there are still flowers, so that any new growth gets a chance to harden up before the colder weather. That's the bit people find most difficult though because they don't want to cut off flowers.
Pruning in early spring up here doesn't always work very well either, because winter often carries on for a long time. We can easily have snow and ice in late April. The climate changes may alter that in future though.

If you take cuttings regularly, that gives you a back up. They stoechas ones usually don't manage for any length of time up here anyway, but the south west is also different from where I am in terms of climate. It's all about the drainage to counteract the conditions, but even then - they aren't great for our climate as they just get woody too easily.

I'd certainly leave the hydrangeas for this coming year, but the pix will help with it all .