Chelsea chop or not

Posts

• yorkiethornton Posts: 100

  May 2020

  Rik56 said:

  I don't normally bother but this year (today actually) I cut down my Sedum "Munstead Red" - I was a bit nervous as they give a good show every summer but tend get a bit floppy by early Autumn.
  

  Thanks. I also have acsedum which is looking healthy: doesn’t flower till late summer/autumn. Do you literally just chop off the top third or so or is it more a prune? Just seems drastic!!

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• Loxley Posts: 5,698

  May 2020 edited May 2020

  Sedums do benefit from it, each cut stem will branch out and it makes the plant stockier. I like delaying the flowering a bit as well. And you can use the old stems as cutting material to make new plants. I've never done it to Salvia Caradonna but I might experiment and see if it extends the flowering period a bit. But it's a shame to delay the early summer flowers of the Salvia.

  "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 

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• yorkiethornton Posts: 100

  May 2020

  WillDB said:

  Sedums do benefit from it, each cut stem will branch out and it makes the plant stockier. I like delaying the flowering a bit as well. And you can use the old stems as cutting material to make new plants. I've never done it to Salvia Caradonna but I might experiment and see if it extends the flowering period a bit. But it's a shame to delay the early summer flowers of the Salvia.

  Thanks. Will give it a go but by how much? Another post says half; would you agree with that? And to cut each stem individually opposed to lopping off with shears? Will have to find out about how to do the cuttings as didn’t think of that!

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• B3 Posts: 27,505

  May 2020

  I leave the centre of the plant and chop around the outside.

  In London. Keen but lazy.

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• Mrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants Posts: 732

  May 2020

  I tend to alternate - cut leave the next.
  

  Southampton 

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