Reports in the past 24 hours suggested that the UK had recorded its biggest ever wave, at Penzance in Cornwall. It later turned out to be an anomaly. But how do you measure the height of a wave, asks Tom Heyden.
Trim away dead or damaged parts in spring. If you live in a place with heavy snows and harsh weather, your lavender bush is likely to lose a few branches over the winter. Examine the shrub in early spring, before it begins producing new shoots. Remove any broken or rotting branches to make way for new growth.
Since lavender needs a long growing season to produce the flowers, they need to be started now, but also require stratification (cool temps before sowing). Wintersowing is an option, but they probably won't germinate for at least a month. I put 6 seeds in a DAMP paper-towel and stuck it in the freezer for 24 hours. After they were back up to room temp, I sowed them and put them under lights. The 1st seedling emerged in 3 days and the rest were up within 5 days.