Ornamental garden Chelsea Chop

In the Garden
Ralph Purkhiser, Purdue University Master Gardener

     It is time for the Chelsea Chop.  That is not a fancy cut of meat for the grill.  It is a simple procedure that will make your ornamental garden more beautiful in late summer.  Named after the annual June flower show in Chelsea, England, the Chelsea Chop is a pruning technique that will make many perennials stronger and result in more flowers.
     Many perennials grow so tall when we have favorable weather that by late summer they become top-heavy and flop on the ground.  Instead of beautiful blooms flying high in the garden, one ends up with flowers that are lying on the ground.  The Chelsea Chop is an easy remedy.
     Asters, mums, sedums, tall phlox, blanket flowers, coneflowers and black-eyed Susans are all prime candidates for chopping.  There is nothing elaborate about the technique.  Simply use a sharp pair of pruners to cut the tall stems back to within six inches of the ground.  Plants pruned during the active growing season will respond by putting out new growth.  Usually, the plants develop thicker stems that will help prevent that late-summer flopping.  Where a single stem was cut, the plants will put out multiple new stems.  More stems equals more flowers.
     The flowering time will be delayed by the Chelsea Chop.  However, if you want flowers over a longer period of time, repeating the chop in early July will create even more flower stems.  To lengthen bloom time, leave a few of the stems uncut now.  Those stems will begin flowering at the plant’s normal bloom time, but may require staking to prevent the flop. The stems that receive the Chelsea Chop will take a while to recover, so the blooms on those stems will begin about a month after the first blooms.  The stems that are trimmed back in early July will be blooming another month or so later.  What would have been a bloom period of three to four weeks now is a bloom window of three months.
     Many wildflowers and prairie plants will also perform similarly when cut back.  If you have an area to grow such plants as ironweed, evening primrose and goldenrod, consider cutting that area back to a foot tall this week.  Like your garden plants, these wildflowers will respond with sturdier stems and more flowers for the pollinators.  It will also make the plots a little neater.
     The chop may also result in more plants for your garden or to share with others.  Many of the stems you cut will root if placed into moist potting soil.  Remove the bottom leaves and poke the stems into the soil.  New roots will soon form where the leaves once were.  You may want to pinch off the growing tip also, which will make these new plants a little sturdier and more branched.  If you do not want more plants, you may simply put the cut stems into the compost pile.
     In addition to the Chelsea Chop, there is some other pruning to do at this time of the year.  Shrubs that have already bloomed for the year may be cut back now if you need to shape them or control the size.  Always cut branches back to a bud to avoid unsightly stick-ups on the shrub.  The cut will stimulate that bud to produce new growth.  If you wait until later, that growth may not have time to develop enough to harden off before winter weather arrives.  Also, many of the spring-blooming plants actually are now producing the buds for next year’s blooms.  The new growth will have time now to produce buds, but growth made later in the year may not produce blooms next year.
     The roses at Sandhill Gardens are beautiful this year.  The old-fashioned roses bloom only once a year and may be pruned after the bloom period.  Come out this Saturday, June 4, for the annual garden exchange at Sandhill Gardens.  Bring your extra plants, garden tools and decorative items to trade with other gardeners.  The fun begins at 10 AM.

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