Topiary Love- how to care for topiaries

Mar 26, 2023

Pretty little puff top plants. Some just foliage and some covered in little blooms that smell as lovely as they look. Today for Friday Favorites- we are talking about topiaries and why I love them and sharing a few tips for keeping them in that lovely topiary form.

Topiary Love

First up- how about a little shout out and love for topiaries. I am a big fan of them- from green foliage to flowering – to herbs and olives and even holiday topiaries. Topiaries are just so darn cute- and can plants be full of charm? Topiaries are absolutely full of charm and character in my mind.

I love them gathered and grouped on a table or sideboard. Or marching down the center of a table for a centerpiece. Or by themselves. I pretty much just love them. And those lavender topiaries? Well, they are one of those signs of spring ‘springing’ every year – and they start popping up all over instagram which tells you how popular they are.

Where to find them

You can find the lavender topiaries at Home Depot pretty much every year for the past few years- and I am sure you could also find them at smaller local nurseries as well. I have seen angel vine and herb topiaries in the grocery store- just check out the floral department to see their seasonal offerings.

Plant them or pot them

I love them in chunky buckets and clay pots covered in moss. But you know – I have also planted them in the flower beds. Because they have some height- and poufy ‘hair’ they really fill in the beds and make them feel ‘taller’ and more grown in.

If potting them – I love to put them into metal buckets or since buckets – or those little clay pots for a rustic look. You can also use regular glazed pots or whatever else you prefer.

What Variety of Lavender are ours

To be honest, I have only seen the lavender topiaries in this variety here. These are a Spanish lavender- the same as the larger plants you would plant in the garden. They have a rustic bushy look with full tips and larger purple flowers. I do have some other varieties of lavender growing in the garden as well- but Spanish lavender seems to be the common variety in our local stores.

How to keep your topiary a ‘topiary’

A good question- and one that I am asked often about these. Those cute little balls or cone shapes that your topiary comes in? You have to continue to prune and clip to keep that shape or it will get a wild hair and grow however it wants.

For example- often the bottom of the trunk will start growing a new sprout-which is fine. But if you don’t want anything growing from the base, you need to clip that off to keep the ‘tree trunk’ shape. If you want the ‘ball’ shape to stay a ball and not be a wild one – clip the wild hairs back and follow the shape to keep it.

Blooming again

The most other question asked about these lavender topiaries is how to get them to bloom again. This is another one that involves those trusty clippers. After the lavender is done blooming- give it a hair cut. Remove the spent buds and clip it back to just the foliage.

This will encourage the lavender to put on a second round of flowers and before too long – you will be enjoying those beautiful blooming topiaries again.

Keeping them year round

Depending on several things like where you live and if you keep your lavender topiaries indoors or out – that makes a difference. If it gets too cold where you live and you leave Spanish lavender outdoors- it won’t be happy and likely won’t come back the next year. So either bring it indoors for winter and give it plenty of sunshine in a window or sunroom- or place it in a greenhouse outdoors to keep it happy.