Monty Don's expert advice to stop lavender plants getting leggy this summer

Lavender remains a popular choice amongst British gardeners due to the plant's resilient characteristics and ability to thrive throughout different seasons, with its aesthetic appeal serving as an additional benefit. This evergreen Mediterranean shrub is celebrated for its pollinator-friendly blooms and aromatic foliage, introducing a vibrant splash of colour to outdoor spaces. Nevertheless, without adequate care and maintenance, these purple-flowering plants can rapidly develop a straggly and untidy appearance. Horticulturist Monty Don from Gardeners World has offered simple advice on preventing your lavender from becoming leggy during the summer months, with the maintenance tasks being remarkably straightforward. But what exactly does the term 'leggy' mean when describing a lavender plant? The term refers to a lavender plant that has developed elongated, sparse, and woody stems featuring fewer leaves and blooms compared to a thriving lavender specimen. A leggy lavender will produce fewer flowers and display a woody appearance, reports the Express . This condition typically results from inadequate or absent pruning. To revitalise a leggy and woody lavender plant, Monty Don recommends pruning during mid-August to "just above the green shoots". He clarifies that the optimal moment to prune your lavender to prevent legginess is when "the flowers have gone over and the plant is not yet setting seed". The horticultural specialist explains: "You don't want to wait until the flowers have turned brown. Just as soon as they're past their best, cut it back." He continues: "You can cut as hard as you like, as long as you leave some new growth beneath the cutting point." However, there's an important caveat, as Monty cautions: "If you cut just down to bare wood, sometimes they don't regrow at all, and that's it - you lose them." He notes: "The idea is to establish a nice compact shape without any of that 'legginess' that you often get on lavenders." After completing this straightforward but essential summer task, Monty explains: "Your lavender plant will then be in a good state to put on a fresh flush of growth, and that will provide a protective layer over winter." He adds: "Next spring, it will be ready to form its flower buds coming out of a nice, well-shaped shrub." The gardening specialist also warns that if "new shoots don't appear within the next month, you might be better off starting again." Pruning after flowering will maintain the plant's compact form and prevent it from becoming excessively leggy and woody.