@Obelixx The timing depends on your local conditions and on the plants species / cultivars. For me, here in Brittany, it's the right time to pinch the following: asters (some of them), phlox, monarda, etc. I tend to chop only some of the stems, not all, so that the forthcoming flowering will be staggered, well, hopefully.
@Papi Jo, does Gaura not respond well to Chelsea chopping? I chop mine back after flowering is finished, November/December, otherwise it goes very floppy. Somehow I missed one and it looks like @herbaceous’ cat/fox has been here too, totally sat on! I was going to chop it back now, will it not flower this year of I do so?
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
For me, pruning woody salvias, it's the main prune of the year - once the threat of frost as past. So it's a matter of choosing a time when the plants aren't going to be weakened, after pruning, by cold, but before there are lots of buds. That was pretty much this week, by me. My can flower from now until the frost, so there is only a short window to prune if I want to keep best flowering. Also the hedge gets too woody and need to be cut back by a third each each year to keep the base.
I have done the same with my pycrantha. Before now the birds needed the berries. After this all the buds will form for the year's new flowers/berries.
@Papi Jo, does Gaura not respond well to Chelsea chopping? I chop mine back after flowering is finished, November/December, otherwise it goes very floppy. Somehow I missed one and it looks like @herbaceous’ cat/fox has been here too, totally sat on! I was going to chop it back now, will it not flower this year of I do so?
@Nollie I think you are confusing "chopping back (to the ground)" with the Chelsea chop, which for me is more akin to "pinching" than "pruning".
I leave all foliage on my Gauras through the winter, as I find it rather interesting in the landscape. I then chop all the dead wood down at the end of winter, being careful not to damage any new foliage that is starting to emerge. That way I do not need to "pinch" the foliage in the spring, but I might do it. To avoid the "cat/fox siesta" look I surround my gauras with my home-made metal supports.
The ‘ Fox Siesta’ look sounds perfect for the forgetful/lazy gardener, @Papi Jo
I do understand the difference, but perhaps did not express myself with a sufficient eloquence. I was just wondering if, having missed the usual chop (to the ground) whether a ‘Chelsea’ was appropriate for Gaura - I will give it a go, it can’t make it look any worse!
I ‘Chelsea’ Agastache Black Adder and Blue Boa, but not the shrubby aurantica types, which only get cut down in winter.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Bother! I felt sure I could blame the animals but it seems my laziness has caught up with me Didn't realise they had to be chopped to the ground at the end of the year but will do it now and maybe try for a few cuttings at the same time. Good luck with yours @Nollie and thank you @Papi Jo
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." Sir Terry Pratchett
@Fire, l have only carried out the Hampton hack on "Royal Bumble" and "Midnight" as they tend to run a bit rampant. I find the paler colour ones such as "Clotted Cream" don't really need it.
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I tend to chop only some of the stems, not all, so that the forthcoming flowering will be staggered, well, hopefully.
I do understand the difference, but perhaps did not express myself with a sufficient eloquence. I was just wondering if, having missed the usual chop (to the ground) whether a ‘Chelsea’ was appropriate for Gaura - I will give it a go, it can’t make it look any worse!
I ‘Chelsea’ Agastache Black Adder and Blue Boa, but not the shrubby aurantica types, which only get cut down in winter.