Some milkweed self-seeded at the front of my garden close to the sidewalk so that when it rained the plants flopped all over. Last year in early summer, I cut the small milkweed plants back hard so that they didn't get so tall at maturity. Since I did that, no rainstorm has ever knocked them over and passers-by have not been inconvenienced. However, I still have just as many Monarch caterpillars on the plants later in the season.
This made me remember that I used to cut back some of my monarda plants so that they would bloom later than the rest, to prolong the bloom.
Recently, a friend was telling me how her perennial lobelia blooms longer when some is cut back and that reminded me of the “Chelsea Chop.” It used to be a ritual among English professional gardeners who would chop plants back in order to slow down the bloom so that it would occur during the Chelsea Flower Show. Taking off just some of the tall stems slows down the setting of the buds.
I have also learned, from volunteering at a local greenhouse in the early spring, that cutting back the growth on small annuals makes them bush out and produce fuller new growth.
Cutting back plants, even small ones, helps to stimulate growth. But don't cut off all of the leaves!
This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on cutting back.
