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Home / Food Gardening / Harvesting / How To Harvest Lavender Fresh From The Garden

How To Harvest Lavender Fresh From The Garden

By Amy Andrychowicz | 20 Comments

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Lavender is a beautiful herb plant with purple flowers that are prized for the calming fragrance. Whether you grow it for tea, recipes, essential oils, or crafting, harvesting lavender is very easy. But the timing and steps are a bit different depending on whether you want the flower buds, sprigs, or leaves. Learn exactly how to harvest lavender from your garden, including what part of the plant to harvest, and when to do it. Plus get tips for storing fresh lavender.

Harvesting lavender is simple, and the more you do it, the more you’ll get. In this post, you’ll learn what part of the plant to harvest, and the best time to do it. Then I’ll show you exactly how to harvest lavender buds and leaves, and give you tips for storing lavender too.

How To Harvest Lavender Fresh From The Garden

Lavender is a beautiful and highly fragrant herb that is extremely popular for it’s calming effect. Lots of gardeners love growing lavender in their home garden for the bright purple flowers alone.

 

But many new gardeners are unsure about harvesting lavender plants. In fact, a few of the most common questions I get are “What part of lavender do you harvest?” and “When is the best time to harvest lavender?“.

The good news is that, once you know the answers to these questions, and I show you how to harvest lavender, you’ll see just how easy it is!

Here’s what you’ll find in this guide to harvesting lavender…

Table of Contents

  • What Part Of Lavender Do You Harvest?
  • When To Harvest Lavender
  • How To Harvest Fresh Lavender
    • How To Harvest Lavender Flowers
    • How To Harvest Lavender Leaves
  • How To Store Fresh Lavender

What Part Of Lavender Do You Harvest?

Most people use lavender for the flowers, but the leaves are also edible. Below I will show you how to harvest both.

One thing to note… the leaves smell as good as the flowers, but they have a different flavor. So, keep that in mind before deciding which part of lavender to harvest.

When To Harvest Lavender

You can harvest it any time during the day. But be sure to cut lavender flowers before the buds open for the best fragrance and flavor. You can harvest them after they bloom too, the oils just won’t be as strong.

Since lavender blooms throughout the growing season, you will get several harvests from it during the summer. And, cutting the flowers regularly encourages even more blooms!

If you want to cut sprigs of leaves, the best time is right after the stem is done blooming, or at the same time as you harvest the flower.

If you’re not worried about the flowers, or you just want to pinch off a few leaves, then you can harvest them at any time.

Related Post: How To Grow Lavender From Seed & When To Plant

Harvest lavender flowers before the buds open

Harvest lavender flowers before the buds open

How To Harvest Fresh Lavender

The steps for harvesting lavender are a bit different depending on whether you want the flowers or the leaves. First, I’ll show you exactly how to harvest the flowers, then I’ll talk about harvesting the leaves.

How To Harvest Lavender Flowers

To harvest the buds, simply snip each flower stem all the way down to the top of the leaves. Don’t try to remove the individual flower buds. This is very tedious, and you could easily end up crushing them in the process.

Use a sharp pair of precision pruners to remove the flower stems. Trying to pick or pinch them off could crush or damage the stem.

Related Post: How To Collect Lavender Seeds From Your Garden

Harvesting lavender flowers from my garden

Harvesting lavender flowers from my garden

How To Harvest Lavender Leaves

To harvest the leaves, you can either cut off small springs, or pinch off individual leaves as you need them. Just be sure to use the tender new growth, and avoid any dry or brown leaves.

If you don’t want to sacrifice the flowers, then make sure to harvest the sprigs after the stem is done blooming. Or, you can harvest the whole tip, flower and all.

Also, be sure to avoid cutting into the woody stems. If you cut lavender down too far, it won’t grow back. Learn exactly how to prune lavender here.

Harvesting lavender leaves from the plant

Harvesting lavender leaves from the plant

How To Store Fresh Lavender

For best results, simply store fresh cut lavender stems in a vase of water on the counter. It will last up to a week. But be sure to use it as soon as you can for the strongest flavor and fragrance.

If you want to store your lavender harvest longer, then try drying it. It’s super easy to do, and there are a few methods you can try! Learn exactly how to dry lavender here.

Fresh lavender flowers in a vase of water

Fresh lavender flowers in a vase of water

Regularly harvesting lavender buds encourages the plant to bloom even more. So, now that you know when and how to harvest lavender, you’ll have tons of this wonderful and beneficial herb to use in your kitchen or for crafting.

Related Products

More Garden Harvesting Posts

  • How & When To Harvest Parsley
  • How & When To Harvest Basil Leaves
  • Free Garden Harvest Tracking Sheet & Guide
  • How To Harvest Chives & When To Pick Them
  • When And How To Harvest Tomatillos

Share your tips for how to harvest lavender in the comment section below!

Lavender is a beautiful herb plant with purple flowers that are prized for the calming fragrance. Whether you grow it for tea, recipes, essential oils, or crafting, harvesting lavender is very easy. But the timing and steps are a bit different depending on whether you want the flower buds, sprigs, or leaves. Learn exactly how to harvest lavender from your garden, including what part of the plant to harvest, and when to do it. Plus get tips for storing fresh lavender.

About Amy Andrychowicz

I live and garden in Minneapolis, MN (zone 4b). My green thumb comes from my parents, and I've been gardening most of my life. I’m a passionate gardener who loves growing everything from vegetables, herbs, and flowers to succulents, tropicals, and houseplants - you name, I've grown it! Read More...

Comments

  1. Jane says

    July 5, 2020 at 8:03 pm

    Thank you for this! I love lavender and this year I wanted to harvest it for making lemon-lavender cookies and some other cooking. I wanted to ask if you should wash it before you use it and / or dry it, please?
    Thank you so much

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      July 6, 2020 at 5:05 pm

      I don’t not wash my lavender before using it. Unless it’s obviously dirty, you really don’t need to.

      Reply
    • Leigh says

      July 6, 2020 at 8:41 pm

      Jane, I’m planning on doing lab ice cookies! Any tips???

      Reply
  2. maria tanquary says

    April 29, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    Hi, I hoped I might be able to ask you a ? I want to make tea with my lavender and I have both French and English Lavender. Which is better for tea and what does it look like when you should cut it. I’m a super visual person. thank you so much.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      May 4, 2020 at 12:19 pm

      Though you could use any type of lavender for tea, English is the best because it has the strongest oils. The article above has all the details for when and how to harvest lavender, including tons of photos, so take a second look through that to answer your other questions. 🙂

      Reply
  3. alexandra says

    April 29, 2019 at 3:29 pm

    I have two types of lavender in my gravel-covered back yard, and now I’m seeing what I first thought were weeds popping up within a foot of the lavender. The leaves seem similar to my lavender and I’m wondering if they are self-propogating? If so, I certainly don’t want to pull them out. Is this possible?

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      May 14, 2019 at 10:11 am

      Yes, lavender plants do produce seeds, and it’s definitely possible that they sowed themselves. How cool! Here’s a related post you might be interested in reading… How To Collect Lavender Seeds From Your Garden

      Reply
  4. Dawny says

    June 4, 2018 at 1:54 pm

    I have put pillows of lavendar all over my flat as it is a damp place and I don’t like artificial scents covering things. I cannot smell it when I enter even though there is a bag just inside the door, what am I doing wrong?

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      June 6, 2018 at 5:25 pm

      Dried lavender isn’t highly fragrant, and the scent fades over time. You could try shaking or squeezing the lavender filled pillows to help release the scent. But, if it’s just sitting there, the fragrance isn’t going to be very strong.

      Reply
      • Yvonne Bickford says

        October 6, 2018 at 5:38 pm

        Put drop if lavender essential oil on them

  5. Marti says

    September 16, 2017 at 4:17 pm

    Can you only use the lavender flowers? What about the leaves? Can you use them too?

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      September 19, 2017 at 9:07 am

      Yes, lavender leaves are also edible and there are many great uses for them. But they don’t have the same flavor as the flowers. Plus, the lavender oils are the strongest in the flower buds.

      Reply
  6. Carolyn says

    August 29, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    Can you make infused oils, etc. with the lavender seedpods as opposed to just the flowers?

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      September 12, 2017 at 12:31 pm

      I don’t think so. I believe all of the essential oils are in the lavender buds and flowers, and not the seed pods.

      Reply
  7. Christine Fröemmrich-Roß says

    August 13, 2015 at 12:52 am

    Hi!
    Nice greetings from Germany. I make lavendel relaxing bath oil. You pull of the fresh lavender buds, put them in jar, so that is 1/3 filled. Now fill up with olive oil or another oil.Close the jar. Let rest for 3 weeks. Every time I past I jolt a little bit.
    After the 3 weeks I strain it. And fill it in a dark bottle.
    Then you can take a bath. Take a cup of milk, put in 3tabelspoons of oil and relax.
    The first time I made it my husband asked, what I will do with that and do not like to taste it. But after he has taken a bath once, after a hard working winter day, he asked me to make it every year.
    By Christine

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      August 13, 2015 at 1:42 pm

      That sounds fabulous! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe for DIY lavender bath oil. I’ll definitely have to try that out!

      Reply
  8. Sarah Balsley says

    July 28, 2015 at 6:13 pm

    I added a little dried lavender to peach jam when I was making it and the two flavours are delicious together! Who knew?!

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      July 30, 2015 at 12:11 pm

      Wow, lavender and peach jam – that sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing that.

      Reply
  9. LindaCTG says

    November 8, 2013 at 12:17 am

    Thank you! I really love these tips for harvesting lavender and I'm so adding lavender to my garden again.

    Reply
    • Amy Andrychowicz says

      November 9, 2013 at 9:25 pm

      You're welcome Linda! Glad I inspired you to add lavender back into your garden! 🙂

      Reply

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Amy Andrychowicz is the creator and owner of Get Busy Gardening (getbusygardening.com), an author, a blogger, and a passionate gardener.

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Amy Andrychowicz is an author, and the creator of Get Busy Gardening. She is devoted to helping new gardeners learn through guidance, encouragement, and advice that is easy to understand.
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