I have a lavender plant, in a pot, indoors. It bloomed this summer, than the stems separated leaving a big hole in the middle of the plant. Does anyone have any ideas how to get it to grow in the middle? I rotate it regularly to keep the stems fairly straight.

WAY MORE light. It wants full sun so you can't give it too much light. That and cutting back the longest stems about halfway will do the trick.

It gets full sun all afternoon. I did prune it this fall, so the current length is the pruned length.

Does your lavender live indoors or outside? I found a West Boylston in MA, zone 5-6 — is that you? If so I doubt your French lavender will spend the winter outside. But lavenders shut down during the cold months, so don't expect it to bloom or put out new growth before late spring or early summer.

Around then, when you start to see new growth, do as CalPoly suggested, trim all stalks by half. It should sprout from the base and fill in. Will you put it outside in the summer? Lavender isn't well suited for indoors. Also, make sure the potting mix is super gritty and drains fast. It really does need all-day sun and heat. 💜

Yes, West Boylston MA is where I'm at. I'm trying to grow it as an indoor plant. It's been doing really well. I bought it in the spring, it. It's in a west facing window so it gets a lot of sun and heat although mostly sun right now. Around Sept. October I cut it back by half. I'm using the potting soil that came with it when I bought it. I'm aware that it slows down in fall winter, not expecting any growth and flowers, just wondering why all the stems spread out, like a circle

Because sun through a window is different than outdoor sun.

Sorry, tried to describe how to get it to fill in. The stalks have become leggy from reaching for the sun, meaning long and thin and floppy. Cutting them back and increasing sun exposure will help rectify that condition, but not until next spring.

IMO no lavender will ever thrive indoors, they are woody shrubs. It's rather like those mini roses you see for sale. You could possibly bring it indoors for a period in summer but these really need to be outside.

Do you have a cat? I've seen plants splayed out like that after a cat decided it was a good place to nap. It only takes once.

Murky: lol There are 2 cats in the house. However the pot is on the windowsill and they won't fit laying down. One of the cats is more likely to try to eat the plant which is 1 of the reasons it's on the sill. Thanks

Never underestimate the power of a cat to get someplace you wouldn't think it could even begin to fit...

If that room stays above 50* the plant won't really go dormant and will continue to grow and maybe flower through the winter. Try to keep it as cool as possible. They will survive temps down in the 30s.

My room is around 65/66, but it's next to a window so probably around 60ish for the plant. I had to move some of my plants because it was too cold next to the glass. The lavender doesn't seem to mind it, no dropping leaves or anything.

Does Lavender Spread?

Lavender is a single-trunked woody shrub. Its branches grow outward and upward. Sometimes sprawling branches touching the soil will root, but it does not put up new growth from underground roots and spread like a ground cover, if that's what you mean.