Lavenders

I have a question- it's probably a daft one me not being very knowledgeable, unlike you all!
I have a French lavender in a pot and am wondering if I should prune it back a little... it still has its 'bunny ears'. Is now the time to do it, or should I wait until the weather gets warmer(!). I'm amazed it's survived thus far, it's in a sheltered position.
In this pot I also have some viola plants around the edges. They are looking somewhat bedraggled- should I trim these back too?
I am in the cold North, if that helps.

 

To add to Armandii cut it back to a clearly live bud and never cut into a woody branch unless they is a live growing bud lower down. Try to keep a roundish shape if you can.

 

Thank you both. I appreciate your advice.
I now have to brace myself and go outside. It's very cold and blustery - and I'm sure you are all familiar with the 'it'll only take a moment or two'...and then you spot another thing needs doing, then another... and afore you realise, you've been outside an age!

 

Welcome to Gardeners Corner Pattie.

 

Any help with this lavender just looks scruffy. Pruned it a little last year but made it look worse. Still looked nice when it flowred last year. I am a new gardener inherited it with a new home 2 years ago just trying to keep things tidy

 

As @ARMANDII says you need to prune it back, but not into old wood. Cut back to the lowest point at which there is new growth / leaves. Then more buds will break lower down the stem and you can prune back a bit further (after it flowers this year). You may be able to do a bit more, next Spring, and more again each year after flowering. Best to prune it straight after flowering, and in Spring "if necessary"

I had a long Lavender hedge and despite my best efforts it got out of control over the years and I found the pruning very tedious (even I have the patience for one or two bushes though ...) aggravated by arthritis in my hands, so in the end I pulled it all out and planted something else that i could just run a hedge trimmer over.

 

So iv given it quite a tough prune and it looks like this. Thanks very much for the advise. I do 'google' stuff but can be hard to find specific advise. Is still looking quite woody underneath still (may remove the extra woody bottom bits in future) but much better see how it grows in the next month or two

 

Even here ... "Ask two people and get three answers" applies

yes, I'm not surprised. If you find some stems that have "shoots/leaves" further up, cut them back to just that one green/silver bit. That bit of green/silver will sprout, but chances are also good that some/many/most will also create fresh sprouts further up the brown stems ... and then you can cut back to those next time.

I would cut more off, as much as you have patience to do, taking, say, anything up to 50% of the stems further back to "just one bit of green/silver still alive". I'd leave the other 50% as-is so it doesn't look too bald! and you have plenty of flowering material this year, and also to provide "power/energy" to the rest of the, recovering, parts of the plant.