How to Harvest and Dry Lavender
When to harvest lavender for drying, cooking, sachets and oil, how to cut the stems, drying methods, and storing dried lavender buds.
Harvest lavender for drying when about half of the flowers on each spike have opened. Cut in the morning, after the dew has dried but before the midday heat, when the oils are strongest. For essential oil, wait until the spikes are in full bloom.
Timing by Use
- Dried bunches and crafts: when the lowest buds open; colour stays bright.
- Cooking and tea: English lavender buds just before or as they open.
- Sachets: buds at about half bloom.
- Oil: full bloom to just past peak; lavandin is the main oil crop.
English lavender usually blooms in June–July and lavandin in July–August in the Northern Hemisphere.
How to Cut
Gather a handful of stems and cut with sharp secateurs or a sickle, leaving some leafy growth on the plant. This doubles as the summer prune.
How to Dry Lavender
- Tie bundles of 50–100 stems with a rubber band (stems shrink as they dry).
- Hang upside down in a dark, dry, airy place.
- After 1–2 weeks, when stems snap, rub the buds off over a tray if needed.
- Store buds in airtight jars away from light; they keep their scent for about a year.
More Lavender Guides
- How to Grow Lavender: The Complete Guide
- How long lavender lives
- Lavender farming profit
- Lavender yield per acre
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time to harvest lavender?
When about half the buds on a spike are open, in the morning after the dew dries.
How long does lavender take to dry?
About 1–2 weeks hung in a dark, dry place.
Can you eat any lavender?
Use English lavender (L. angustifolia) for cooking; others taste harsh and camphor-like.
TarlaTapan guides focus on practical, field-tested growing advice. Corrections and suggestions are welcome at info@tarlatapan.tr.