Q&A for How to Harvest Lavender

Lavender can grow in USDA Zones 5-9, depending on the variety. Keep in mind that lavender likes dry, sunny, rocky habitats. If your area is not like that, you will have to put more work into your lavender garden. Lavender hates dampness. If you get a lot of rain or humidity, your lavender will suffer. Hidcote and Munstead are the hardiest varieties- try those.

Yes, you can make herbal tea from lavender flowers and/or add it to black or green tea. Instructions for making lavender tea can be found here: How to Make Lavender Tea .

Lavender is optimal when the flower buds are swollen and the flowers are just beginning to open but haven't fully opened yet.

Potted lavender often dies as a result of overwatering. Ensure that the potting soil is of good quality and is fast draining and doesn't hold too much moisture. If the leaves are wilting and/or turning black, this indicates that the moisture has allowed the growth of fungus, which can kill the lavender if not controlled.

Yes, lavender flowers will grow again either the same season or the following year, depending on when you harvested the flowers. Lavender will grow more flowers a few months later if it has been harvested early spring, giving you two harvests during the warmer months.

Lavender can be harvested in early spring, a good time because it means that the lavender plant will try to produce another crop of flowers that can be harvested in late summer or early fall.

Lavender can be grown indoors but it is a bit of a challenge. Plant it with decent potting soil in a suitably sized container. Place where it has plenty of sunlight, at least 4 hours each day. Keep it in a warm part of the house but not in front of any heat source that blows hot air onto the plant. Water regularly but only when the soil has mostly dried out, as lavender tends to rot if the soil is too moist all the time. Use half-strength all-purpose fertilizer every 4 weeks during the warmer months when the plant is growing. Trim whenever it appears scraggly or after flowering, to keep it neat. Watch for pests and deal with swiftly to avoid harm to the plant.

Yes. Tie the stalks together and hang them upside down in a dry, dark location. When they are fully dry you can use them as a decorative element. If you would like them to last longer, use hairspray on them before you hang them up to dry. Remember, you don't want to use them for anything but decoration if you have sprayed them with hairspray.

Dead leaf matter is the brown-to-yellow looking leaves/flowers that have bloomed and died. This process is natural in every plant. You will see this when the plant is growing and shedding its old growth or when the weather changes to a colder climate and the plant goes into a dormant state. Brown/yellow or dead leaves can also mean the plant is diseased.

It depends where you live. My lavender (munstead variety) flowers in late June/early July. So, my first harvest is in the summer. I usually have flowers until September, and have harvested several times without problem. If you plan on harvesting often, I suggest you apply a good quality compost/manure blend around your lavender once a year (about 2 inches thick). That way you can ensure a healthy plant year after year, instead of a plant that is working hard to grow flowers but has no 'food'.

Lavender enjoys cool weather. You may be able to get another harvest in the fall.

I would not recommend it, no, but the worst that would happen is that you would have a weaker, less pleasant flavor.

Prune it. After a season it will die and come back in the fall/spring, depending on your growing zone.

Most lavender is purple, but you could use any color you'd like, depending on your tastes and preferences.

Yes. It's best if they've been dried out and the flower buds have been taken off the stem. I enjoy my lavender tea with a bit of crushed mint.

There are varieties of lavender that are purple, silvery blue and white. A lavender plant does not change from purple to white, as it is only one variety. Perhaps you have several different varieties planted, or maybe it is not lavender.

Use a set of hand pruners and go slowly and carefully through the plant, trimming the stems. A gentle hand should prevent any harm from coming to your lavender bush.

Take a 5-gallon plastic bucket. Cut enough lengths of PVC pipe to fill the bucket at 1” OD x 12" L. Pour in soil to fill PVC pipe. Don’t worry about dirt in between pipes. Cut woody stems of lavender and shove woody stem into PVC. Add water to bucket and let the soil soak it up. Don’t cover the tops of PVC. Put in a cool area so as not to freeze. The woody stems will show signs of new buds by spring. Dig a hole in spring, place water in the hole, push out plant from PVC and place in the ground. Pack roots firmly and space accordingly.

Cutting the woody stems will harm the plant, and if you harvest the lavender that way, cutting it down to the roots, your lavender plant may die, or take a while to regrow.

No, I don' t think its suitable and it may cause mold. Pruning may be the reason you did not get flowers.

I live in the south of England and I just prune to a couple of inches above the wood and then leave it. We get snow and it freezes but the plants seem OK. Lavender hates to be too wet so watch out for poor drainage.

Yes, most times people dry their lavender first and then use it to make oil. A good way to dry lavender is by hanging it upside down in a dark room.

Harvesting / pruning the lavender actually creates new growth, so it's better for the plant and the pollinators in the long-run. If you're worried about taking too many flowers at a time, try to leave about half of the bush intact so the pollinators can enjoy it too.

The lavender flowers will naturally die off after the blooming season, and if you leave them on, they'll fall off naturally on their own. It won't inhibit the plant growth, but it may make it a little bit harder for the plant to grow new shoots next season. Try pruning back any dead stalks in the fall so your plant has room for new shoots in the spring.

You can harvest lavender a few times per season, or as often as your plant grows new flowers. Harvesting lavender multiple times per season is actually good for the plant, so don't worry about taking too many flowers.

Try pruning off the brown parts. It may be that your plant is allocating too many resources toward the brown / dead flowers and not enough toward the healthy, living flowers. Give it some help by removing the dead ones, then see how it does.