Alan Titchmarsh has revealed a crucial job for lavender plants that you "must" do or risk having "very few flowers".

The gardening expert possesses a treasure trove of wisdom and his guidance proves priceless when it comes to maximising your plants' potential, including lavender.

During a previous conversation with Express.co.uk, Alan declared that lavender stands as the one plant no gardener should go without during next summer. He emphasised their adaptability, explaining they can flourish as tidy borders along pathways, surrounding flower beds, or combined with perennials towards the front of a border.

The horticultural specialist noted that lavender "looks fabulous" alongside alliums, especially the substantial, purple, drumstick varieties currently at their finest, reports the Daily Record.

Lavenders don't just appear and smell delightful, but prove practical too. You can harvest the blooms for indoor displays, preserve them and strip away the individual florets for potpourri use.

Whilst lavender plants remain "easy to grow", they "need the right growing conditions" and attention, Alan emphasised. One particular job owners must undertake involves pruning.

He explained: "Lavenders aren't difficult plants to look after, but you must prune them. An unkempt lavender soon turns from a neat, busy youngster into a straggly geriatric with bare, arthritic woody stems, stunted bunches of foliage and very few flowers."

The horticulturist revealed that pruning serves as an "annual rejuvenation treatment" that "prolongs life to keep lavender looming, besides keeping them in shape for better blooms".

Gardeners need to adjust their methods when trimming various lavender types and understand the perfect timing for cutting. The ideal period for pruning lavender is generally late summer or early autumn, after the plant has finished flowering.

Nevertheless, if required, trimming can be carried out at other periods during the year. Alan revealed that conventional English lavender and its crosses, which flower with lengthy spikes in June and July, should get a light cut immediately following blooming - it's essential to avoid slicing into the aged wood wherever possible.

Lavandula stoechas types, which start flowering in May, need regular deadheading - this means removing each faded flower together with a brief stem once they wilt, whilst keeping the remainder of the plant undisturbed.

By following this approach, "they'll keep flowering in dribs and drabs throughout the summer" and into the early autumn. It's vital to remember that lavender plants don't react favourably to harsh pruning.

As a basic rule, only trim roughly one-third to half of the plant's present size. Cutting back more than two-thirds can damage the plant's recovery.

Alan Titchmarsh names 'must-do' task to get better lavender blooms - The Mirror