No matter what you intend to use lavender for, harvesting it at the right time is essential to creating a high-quality product. As weather warms in the spring and after a nice spring pruning , lavender plants begin to send up stems and tightly closed spikes. Buds form on the spikes and grow, eventually changing from green to a greenish hue of lavender or white, or blue, or pink….
Then, the flowers corolla emerge from the buds — The lavender is blooming. Not all buds on the same spike bloom at once. Look at these two spikes, for example:. Sprig 1 has closed buds, while Sprig 2 is blooming and ready for harvest. Notice how its buds are completely closed, and they still have a translucent, greenish hue. Some of its buds are in full bloom, and many others the buds with the dried, blue-violet petals on their tips have already bloomed.
Of course, you may not be inclined to harvest lavender stem by stem. You can approach your lavender plants in sections, harvesting parts of the plant at various times, when each part is at its peak bloom.
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Because lavender blooms on the stems that grow in the current year, pruning can be done in early- or mid-spring without sacrificing the current year's flowering. Pruning in late-summer or early-fall encourages good air circulation, which guards against rot.
If possible, pruning twice a year is ideal. When your lavender plants are still young, begin pinching tips of new growth; the plants will respond vigorously with dense branching that will help form a good shape. Delay pruning, and the plant has an opportunity to form older eventually woody growth that won't respond as well to pruning. Since lavender will grow vigorously in the right conditions, you should prune back at least one-third of an established plant each year.
Many gardeners prune and harvest their lavender at the same time. Removing the flowering stems from the bush promotes new growth in the plant's roots, keeps the plant looking tidy, and gives you bunches of fragrant, fresh lavender flowers. You can either cut the flowers at the base of the stem, right above the leaves.
Or you can cut them just below the buds, depending on your intended use and method of drying. To cut lavender flowers for drying, be sure to use a sharp pair of precision pruners to snip off the stalks, rather than picking or breaking them off.
Lavender leaves smell wonderful, and are just as easy to dry as the flowers. For best results, use the tender new growth that is at the tips of the stems. You can cut the leaves at any time. Or, you could simply pluck off the individual leaves, if you prefer. Learn how to properly prune lavender here.
The exact steps for how to dry lavender depend on the method you use. There are several methods to choose from, and all of them are pretty easy. You can use any of these methods whether you want to dry the flowers or the leaves.
Below are the best ways to dry lavender, along with step-by-step instructions for each method…. One of the easiest ways to dry out fresh lavender is to hang it upside down.
If you chose to use this method, make sure your bundles are small, and bunch them loosely to prevent mildew. It can take a week or more for it to dry when you hang the bunches upside down, depending on how humid it is. Here are the steps for how to hang lavender to dry…. Another great way to dry lavender buds or leaves is to use a hanging herb drying rack. If you have the space, you can use a kitchen counter drying tray instead.
You could try spreading the stems out on paper towels and leaving them out on the counter, which will also work. But it may take a little longer for them to dry. It usually takes a several days for lavender to dry using this method. The looser you lay them, the faster they will dry. Here are the steps for using a drying rack…. Using a food dehydrator is an easy way to dry lavender fast. Another great way to dry lavender quickly it to use your oven.
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