From our perspective as lavender plants, preparing for winter is about survival, not sleep. We enter a state of dormancy, a crucial rest period where our metabolic processes slow dramatically. Our above-ground growth halts, but our roots remain alive, storing the energy you helped us create all summer. In northern states, the primary threats are not the cold itself, but the combination of wet conditions and freeze-thaw cycles. Our Mediterranean genetics make us exceptionally vulnerable to root rot from sitting in cold, soggy soil. The heaving of the ground from these cycles can also tear our delicate roots, causing severe damage or death.
Your assistance begins not in fall, but in late summer, around 6-8 weeks before your region's first expected frost. This timing is vital. Please do not prune us in fall. A late fall pruning encourages tender new growth that will be instantly killed by frost, wasting our precious energy and leaving open wounds for disease to enter. Instead, a late summer trim allows us to heal those cuts and begin hardening off—the process of acclimating our tissues to colder temperatures. Use sharp, clean shears to remove about one-third of our green, leafy growth, shaping us into a neat, rounded mound. Avoid cutting into the old, woody stems, as we often cannot regenerate growth from there.
Our most important winter need is dry feet. Please ensure the soil around us is extremely well-draining. If we are planted in heavy clay, you might consider amending the soil with gravel or sand. As autumn progresses, gradually reduce watering. This helps signal to us that it is time to slow down and further protects our crown from excess moisture. However, do not let us enter winter completely parched. A deep, thorough watering for us once the ground is cold but before it freezes solid is immensely helpful. This "winter watering" provides a critical reservoir of moisture for our roots to access throughout the winter, preventing desiccation.
While we are tolerant of cold air, we need a stable environment at our crown (the base where our stems meet the roots). After the ground has frozen hard, which typically occurs after a few hard frosts, please apply a light, dry mulch. Do not smother us with heavy, wet materials like leaves or bark mulch, as these retain moisture and can rot our crown. Instead, a few inches of gravel, pea stone, or evergreen boughs is ideal. These materials allow for air circulation, shed moisture away from our center, and provide just enough insulation to buffer the soil from drastic temperature swings, preventing the damaging freeze-thaw cycle.
