August 2023
A spruce up!
Now is a good time to trim any evergreen hedges. Avoid a very hot, sunny day though (quite easy to do lately and let's face it, you'd probably prefer to do something more relaxing then anyway)!
Any nesting birds should have vacated by now (although always worth a check) and it gives any cuts and new growth a chance to well and truly harden off before any frosts.
Neatening up hedges in late summer will keep them looking good throughout the winter, so you won't need to tend to them until next year.
Lavender love
Late August is the time to trim Lavenders if you want to avoid shapeless woody plants.
English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is the hardiest variety and requires a good haircut a couple of times a year. In late summer after it’s finished flowering, remove flower stalks and about an inch of leaf growth. Plants can be clipped again in spring to achieve a good shape.
NEVER prune any type of lavender back into old wood as it will not grow back. Always make sure there’s a group of new shoots below your cut.
French Lavenders (Lavandula stoechas) are not as winter hardy as the English variety, although they do have a longer flowering season. Flowerheads can be cut back after the first flush in early summer to encourage further blooms.
It is highly unlikely that you will be able to rejuvenate a very neglected plant and the best option is to start again with young plants at the beginning of the season.
Don’t forget…
….to keep your plants looking their best for the rest of the season!
Water well in dry weather.
Feed containers with a quick release liquid fertiliser (particularly important if your compost is peat free, as these composts don’t tend to retain nutrients so well).
Deadhead to encourage more flowers.
Weed around the base of plants to get rid of any unwanted competition.