Q. I have a lavender bush which I planted last year that is still tall from last year but looks like it may be dead (or maybe that is just how they look now). Should I cut it back now, or should I have cut it back at the end of the season last fall?
-Boston, Massachusetts
A. You should never cut lavender back in the fall but always wait until spring. Although your lavender looks dead, it may not be, although it should be showing some pale grey-green foliage way down at the bottom of the stems if it is still alive. The best way to tell is to cut back a bit at a time and look at the end of the stem. If it is green inside, even if it has not refoliated, it is alive. If the end of the stem is gray, it is dead to that point.
Lavender should be cut back at least half each year so that it doesn’t get too straggly.
If your soil is poorly drained, the lavender may well be dead. Winter wet on the roots is what kills it. Where it grows naturally in Provence, the soil is basically tiny pieces of stone.
Bobbie Schwartz, Bobbie’s Green Thumb, Shaker Heights, Ohio
