I tend an herb garden and have had to renew several munstead, it took 2 years but they are beautiful and managable now. Year one early spring when new growth appears cut out oldest woody stems and dead growth to the ground then cut back the rest of the plant no more than a third. Mostly this is to give it shape. Remove mulch from around the base of the plants they like heat and don't fertilize. Then after it blooms deadhead the entire plant, you will most likely get a second slight bloom. Year two early spring cut back the rest of the old woody stems and if you didn't give it a trim the previous fall do so now. Many people make growing lavendar alot harder than it really is. Personnally I think it is one of the easiest plants to grow once it is established. And in my back yard the deer haven't touched it.

Thanks for the great tips re lavender..How long have your lavender plants lived??
And do you change your pruning techniques to encourage new growth and flowering as the plants age??
We are in different zones. I wonder if that matters?

I've been tending the garden for 5 years and I think the garden was unattended for 3 so it's over 8 years. I did have to replace several of the lavender after the first year because of my ignorance, but have learned. I pruned them back too much in the lte fall and the ones I replaced would have made it but I thought because it was a public garden I should replace them. No, I use the same pruning techniques on all of the plants. Because each year they get older they still keep producing new growth and I want to make room for that growth so I continue to cut out the old growth. I don't think the zone matters with regard to the pruning technique. I live in the mtns of PA so though my zone is 6 I go by zone 5 because of the altitude...though it is only 1500 ft above sea level there frequently is a significant difference in temperatures during the winter sometimes a 10 degrees (F) colder difference from the valley.

Need to clarify my instructions "cut out oldest woody stems and dead growth to the ground then cut back the rest of the plant no more than a third." cut out the dead growth to the base of the plant not the ground and only prune off 1/3 of the plant leaving 2/3's. A rule of thumb when pruning anything...never remove more than a 1/3 of plant at one time. A good guide to determine what is a 1/3 is to lay the cuttings near the plant you are pruning and when the pile is 1/3 of the original size stop pruning. There is always next year to prune back more if necessary. That is why you should always prune out the dead and old growth first. Dead heading is not included in the one third rule, because you are removing spent flowers not branches/stems.

When pruning lavender remember it is pretty forgiving so if you aren't sure either do or don't.