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Rosea lavender second flush possible?

rossmoirarossmoira Posts: 4
in Problem solving
My Rosea lavender flowers seem to be finished.  The bush was in full bloom 3 wks ago,when we went away, but on our return home ,the flowers had turned brown . Q is will they have a second flush this late in summer? We are in the Highlands so lucky that the plants are thriving at all and this is only their second year. The others are edelweiss and hidcote ,both still in flower
If it is too much to expect a second blooming,is it too early to prune? 
Any suggestions ? This didnt seem to happen last year, but then the weather may have been an influence. 
Thanks .
Moira   

Posts

  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    At mid August, it is rare for a second flush. If you pruned back around late June to early July, sometimes, they produce a second flush.
  • rossmoirarossmoira Posts: 4
    Thank you. I usually leave pruning until mid- Sep. The new lavenders are second season and there is no real wood.,but I hear that it is best not to cut that far. I was pretty brutal with older plants ( 18 yrs old!) last year and they really livened up. What is your opinion,pls?
    Moira
     
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    About pruning hard into older wood, it's one of those questions that seems to divide some gardeners. A bit like you shouldn't cut hard into big woody branches of Hebe shrubs. I must have been lucky in the past. I have had no issues. I have had success and failures with Lavenders, so it's just luck. Could be to do with how the plant is doing (mainly the roots) at the time. A strong healthy root system may help the plant rejuvenate, whilst a weakened plant may not. So if given the choice I would prefer to be cautious. 

    On young plants, you can afford to prune down to where you feel comfortable. As long as it's not into the woody sections. With winters being more wet, it's always better to leave more top growth over winter so the rain water bounce off the top growth away from the root area. You can always prune some more in the spring time.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    My English lavenders rebloom in autumn if they aren't pruned. They flower June-mid August, then a 2-3 weeks gap and then again for 4-5 weeks. So against all advice, I prune them in February, together with my intermediate lavenders (which finish blooming in November). It could be because on the west coast, we usually have very mild autumn and the 1st frost at the end of December, I don't know.
    I don't grow rosea and every variety could be slightly different.
    I am thinking about doing a test this year. Cutting some plants back now according to the official advice, some only lightly deadheading (and pruning again in February) and some leaving as they are and observe how they behave.
  • rossmoirarossmoira Posts: 4

    interesting comments . It never occurred to me to leave some top growth so that the rain bounces off the lower part! (Borderline) The older Lavender is so bushy that I doubt much rain gets through even in the Eastern Highlands, but the younger plants had a failure rate eventually of a third , and a wet winter I suspect was to blame. Hard to know,since a shoot of one of the dead plants survived and is thriving on its own,though it looks very odd amongst its neighbours.

    I also however like your bold approach( EDHELKA) by performing a pruning test. The older plants were, frankly, quite neglected for some years so they are obviously quite tolerant.

    I realise we are on the climatic edge for Lavender ( mine are are all English, obviously) and I am thinking putting wood bark chipping around the bases to in theory absorb some of the winter rain; is this a really daft idea?

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