How to Grow & Prune Lavender

Grow

• 1

  Get cuttings from a lavender plant. If you do not have another lavender plant growing at your home, or if you do not have access to a lavender plant, purchase an established lavender plant and take cuttings from the plant for as many lavender plants as you would like to grow. To take a proper cutting, according to "Joys of Lavender," take the tip of a branch on the lavender plant that is 4 to 8 inches in length and pull downward until the branch breaks free from the stem. Make sure you got part of the main stem when the branch broke free. If you didn't get any of the main stem, take another cutting.

• 2

  Pull the leaves off the bottom half of the cutting, where the main part of the stem is located. Wet the main part of the stem with water and dip it into rooting powder.

• 3

  Dig a hole where you want to plant the cutting, deep enough that only 1 inch of the cutting will remain outside the ground. Insert the cutting into the ground and lightly pack the soil around it to keep it standing upright. If you have compost available, mix it in with the soil before packing the soil around the cutting.

• 4

  Leave enough space on either side of the lavender plant to have room for growth. Give 3 to 4 feet on either side of the plant to provide ample space for it to grow without competing for nutrients and moisture in the soil.

• 5

  Keep the soil around the lavender plant moist and make sure the plant gets plenty of sunlight. During the summer months, water lavender at least once a day. The plant requires a full sunlight location where it receives six to eight hours of daily light.

Pruning

• 6

  Groom the lavender bush into the proper shape during its first year by removing any new branches that form at the bottom of the plant to encourage one central branch. Also, pinch or use shears to remove any blooms on the lavender plant, which, according to Lavender Enchantment, produces better blooms the following year.

• 7

  Cut back the branches on a lavender plant to half their size once each year to encourage new growth. Make these cuts during fall before there is any frost danger, or in summer, after the plant has flowered.

• 8

  Make sure that you do not cut all of the leaves off of the plant when cutting the plant back each year. Some leaves must remain on the plant to ensure the lavender's health the following year.