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Dead shoots

stuarta99stuarta99 Posts: 235
in Problem solving
Hi guys, 

Not sure if someone can help. Just noticed that on our lavender the left hand side seems to have lots of brown dead looking shoots compared to the rest of it and the foliage underneath is silver rather than green on the rest of the bush. Is this side dead? 
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Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    That section has died off, unfortunately.  All you can do is follow the dead bits back down and prune-out the woody stem that they come from.  Lavenders are relatively short-lived things, and to keep it from getting leggy too quickly, once it has finished flowering, trim all the stems back to about an inch or more into the green leaves below each flower.  Don't cut back below green material, as they usually don't re-shoot from leafless brown woody stems.  Pruning it will also help it to fill the gap which will be left when you remove the dead stuff, by promoting fresh new growth next spring.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • stuarta99stuarta99 Posts: 235
    Yeah we didn't have a gap, just appeared one day as though someone had sat on it.

    I do prune it back each year so basically look for green shoots under the silver once it's all finished flowering 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Any chance it may be being used by passing dogs and cats as a scent marking point?  Being sprayed with that stuff does them no good at all.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • stuarta99stuarta99 Posts: 235
    edited August 2021
    We have had problems with cats messing near it on the lawn but not recently as they seem to have moved to the back lawn. 

    Don't remember seeing any green underneath the silver but hopefully once I start cutting it back some will appear.

    There has been some grass growing up through it which I'd kind of left natural for a while till I ripped it out at the weekend.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Grass growing through could have shaded out part of it, if it was a thick clump, but lavenders do tend to get a bit woody with dieback as they age. If it doesn't grow back after you cut back the dead bit, it might be better to cut your losses and replace it with a new one next spring when it'll have all summer to settle in.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I had a big healthy year 2 antirrhinum. It was inexplicably dying. One evening, I looked out the window. A fox was peeing on it. Obviously a territorial marker. I've cut it down to the ankles. Maybe it'll grow back next year and the fox will pee elsewhere. It was a lovely white self seeder.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • stuarta99stuarta99 Posts: 235
    Fortunately it was only strands. Frustrating because one we had at our old house was an amazing plant, this one has suffered. Firstly gap on the the other side where a bit broke off, flattened by snow, now this dead area. Always see so many in gardens looking a lot tidier.

    Maybe it's time to cut our losses and replace with a different variety.
  • stuarta99stuarta99 Posts: 235
    Noticed a news article on my phone today from Monty Don saying you should start pruning lavenders now and before they go completely and start seeding.  Seems a bit early
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I did mine a couple of weeks ago
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • stuarta99stuarta99 Posts: 235
    wow ok, maybe I'll give mine a trim then. I've just normally waited a couple of months
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