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Rudbeckia overwinter, still some green

JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
in Plants
Hi all,

Should rudbeckia always be hacked back to the ground, or is there some value in just trimming the stems that are still green?

One reason I ask is that my rudbeckia never came back last year after I cut them back, it looks like slugs were gobbling all the fresh shoots and I didn’t realise until too late.

Below are two that still have lots of green stems, and one that I’ve tried to trim back and leave the green:



Rootballs are mostly quite sizeable.

Posts

  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I'd be inclined just to cut each stem back to where you can new shoots appearing. I put down a circle of Hort.grit around my vulnerable plants to keep both slug and snails off - it seems to work for me. You need at least a 6" circle - 12" is better still if you have the space.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Lizzie27 said:
    I'd be inclined just to cut each stem back to where you can new shoots appearing. I put down a circle of Hort.grit around my vulnerable plants to keep both slug and snails off - it seems to work for me. You need at least a 6" circle - 12" is better still if you have the space.
    Thanks Lizzie, no new shoots yet which is partly why I’m thinking of retaining last years green stems.

    Perhaps cut them back to a bud a bit like deadheading?
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Yes, that right's @Tinpot.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    edited August 2020
    So a bit of an update five months on, of seven I repotted and trimmed, two have come back not huge but they are lush :smiley:



    But its worth noting that the green bits I had trimmed back to never grew and certainly didnt produce any leaves or flowers, so in this experiment I found no value in sparing the green bits.
  • alany1951alany1951 Posts: 1
    Irish Spring seems hardier than other Rudbeckias also Rustic Dwarf.Some have survived the outside in our delightful northern winters but I now put some in my cold frame and the plants are substantial when they put back in garden but watch out for mould.
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