Woody leggy lavender

[Glovesy]

Hi

I have a lavender bush that is massively woody and overhanging. Would I be able to move it and bury in a bigger hole so that only the green is showing? Or would the wood rot before it roots?

 

[Glovesy]

 

[FromCali]

I am not sure, but I think regular pruning is the key. If you let it grow, the bottom part won't have leaves, and you will have more woody bottom part.

One of the lavender bushes we have, got only woody (no leaves) in the middle. I trimmed the middle part severely and kept only 1 to 2 inches of green for the rest of the bush. I see that the woody part is getting new growth. Same for the middle portion that I trimmed severely. Its re growing, but is still looks ugly right now.
FWIW, I don't want my lavender bushes very big.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

It is a bit early to prune now, it will be just about to flower. As soon as it finishes flowering you can cut it right back, very hard. So long as there is a bit of green it will have time to put on a bit of growth before winter and it will be a new plant next year.
In the mean time turn the prunings into cuttings. Most sizes pieces will have a good chance of rooting in a mix with some sharp sand in, I stand them out side the North face of the greenhouse, of course the larger the cutting the quicker it turns into a decent size plant, up to the point where the foliage is losing water faster than the stem can absorb it. Have patience, they can take months and months to strike sometimes, but keep an eye on the bottom of the pot, sometimes they go quickly and get pot bound.
I have a nice hedge of 16 plants between one of my veg patches and the lawn that originated from pruning.

 

[Glovesy]

It is a bit early to prune now, it will be just about to flower. As soon as it finishes flowering you can cut it right back, very hard. So long as there is a bit of green it will have time to put on a bit of growth before winter and it will be a new plant next year.
In the mean time turn the prunings into cuttings. Most sizes pieces will have a good chance of rooting in a mix with some sharp sand in, I stand them out side the North face of the greenhouse, of course the larger the cutting the quicker it turns into a decent size plant, up to the point where the foliage is losing water faster than the stem can absorb it. Have patience, they can take months and months to strike sometimes, but keep an eye on the bottom of the pot, sometimes they go quickly and get pot bound.
I have a nice hedge of 16 plants between one of my veg patches and the lawn that originated from pruning.

When you say bit of green, do you mean new growth, or green within the woody stem? My worry is that the green growth is still really high up, so the plant will still be really woody. I have already propagated from cuttings and funnily enough the smallest stems seems to have taken the quickest, but I'm keen to keep this massive plant and it needs to be moved shortly

 

[Oliver Buckle]

There is usually some sort of small shoot or bud. If not it is quite likely to sprout something, but I wouldn't guarantee it. Maybe make it a two stage job, this year and next, as it will probably sprout further back if you cut it to the furthest showing bud, especially if you are also moving it.