'The Well-tended Perennial Garden' or not?!!

Hi, everybody!

My mixed flower border is just about ready to burst into bloom, (and I am getting nervous about how to care for it.)

I borrowed this (very popular so popular it's out of print right now) book by Tracy Disabato-Aust

http://davesgarden.com/gbw/c/38/

from the library last winter and thought the perennial pruning advice made a lot of sense. And of course I thought I would remember it.

Now, of course, when I need the information, the book is checked out by someone else and my memory is defunct.

I am particularly interested in how and when you do what I call the 'staged' pruning to produce longer bloom, from say, a nepeta or a sage or leucanthemum...

And do you just 'lop off' all the pretty hardy 'Orion' geranium blooms while they are in 'high bloom' in the hopes of getting another crop of them sometime later (with a less leggy look)? Sounds drastic to me. My inclination is to wait until bloom is over.

And what about this? Someone was 'helping' me in the garden, and trimmed off all the buds on the blue salvia--I just about cried-- since I wanted them to bloom with my Eremurus this week. Wrong, I say, to do that, but maybe trimming off the buds will be a good thing in the long run?.

I had never thought much about 'strategic' pruning of the perennials (and annuals, too, I guess).

So I want to know, do you do it? Does it work?. Exactly what techniques do you find the most helpful? That sort of thing.

Any help or advice you can share would be appreciated.

Happy gardening. t.

Looks gorgeous to me--I just wish coreopsis would stand up like that for me. They bloom here in March and always get beat down by the rain for me. Salvias, always seem to enjoy a 'haircut' and will probably reward you with added blooms. Are those gallardia's or rudebeckias in the lower part of the picture? They look perfect to me!
Debbie

gallardias. I was surprised to see them come back from last year. Thanks, dmj. My coreopsis just started blooming a week ago. They will be beat out before too long, too. Then I suppose I should cut them back and try for a second round.

I am not sure when to cut back, or possibly to cut only half back at a time to stagger bloom time...?

This sort of pruning is very confusing to me. LOL

Thanks, lev, and from where did you get your quote? Is there other information there about dead-heading, etc. for other flowers?

Reading between the lines, lev, are you saying you don't bother with 'strategic' pruning? It seems that in zone 7a you would be doing some now, if you did it at all?

tabasco, I also had the book from the library, so am just speaking here from memory. But, as I recall, the staged pruning was in a large planting of one perennial. You'd leave the back ones alone and prune the front maybe 2/3. Then a couple of weeks later, prune the front 1/3 again. This was all before blooming and results in the group's blooming in stages based on when they were pruned.

I guess you could do the same thing on a single plant if the resulting shape weren't a problem. ???

This message was edited May 30, 2006 8:06 AM

Yes I do deadhead and cut back after flowering (some things). Everything is different..for instance you can't prune back a Jap. anemone or it will not flower at all. I got the quote for Well tended Perennial Garden and it is a good book...You should get it on Amazon or somewhere...there are too many things to quote for every perennial...most can be cut back for later flowering etc. and it becomes a matter of personal choice and TIME.!! I think generally speaking she is saying that cutting back and deadheading are things you do everyday to one plant or another to make your bed look better. I cut my amsonia in half after flowering and it bushes out and then turns bright yellow in fall.

Down here anyway, if gallardias are allowed to go completely to seed...they will not bloom again until late Oct-Nov.
Debbie

I would like to get the book. I understand it is being reprinted in a new edition this August and I suppose I should wait for that one.

The author probably wants to update some of her garden tending advice. When I read it last winter I thought much of the information was quite helpful and other parts of it were quite dubious. Some of it seemed rather out of date and counter to what the 'experts' are saying now. One never knows, though....

Yes, the cutting back 1/3 and 2/3s is what I remember or don't remember! I would like to try it with some of the plants in my butterfly garden that are kind of casual/weedy to begin with and some leucanthemum (daisies?) (I'm trying to use botanical names--not so good at it but practicing, anyway). the timing is what kills me. After waiting so long for these perennials to emerge from the ground, it kills me to whack them off! Can't believe that's what I'm supposed to do!

That's one reason why I'm asking if anyone actually does it?! LOL

I find books geared towards your specific geographical area are the best for me. Perennial gardening in say, Indianopolis, is much different than the same plant in Texas.
Debbie

I feel your pain, tabasco. After I read it, I'd resolved to use it for my Jacob Cline monarda which gets too tall relative to the plants around it. But it's now over 2' tall, and I'm sure I should have pruned some of it by now. But I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. I think today will be the day! Since it IS something I do with mums and coleus and tomatoes, I shouldn't be so resistive. I would also like to so it on my liatris, but I'm not sure if it would then not bloom.

mickgene--post us some pics of your monarda! That's a plant I struggle with down here (and probably because its hard to grow) and dearly love. I know they prefer a 'drier' climate than ours. But I soldier on anyway...
Debbie

Yes, the humidity does get to them. Maybe that's one reason I shouldn't try to delay their blooming into what will be the wet dog days of summer. Here's a pic where they're just starting to bloom last year at the top of the hill. (Sorry but last year was my first digital year in the garden pix.)

I think it is really a matter of cutting back when the perennial starts to look bad....I never cut back a perennial when it looks great no matter what.

OK. It's done, at least for the monarda, not only Jacob Cline but MArshall's Delight and On Parade, since they all become quite top heavy. The tallest ones had buds. I hated to do it!

Great lookin' monarda and garden mickgene. I'm with levilyla--if it ain't broke, I don't try to fix it.
Debbie

About the only thing I pinch back are the mums. Otherwise, I'm doing good just to keep up with deadheading what's dead. It will be interesting to see what the monarda does for you.

Susan

That's what I'm thinking, Susan. "Interesting." But if it doesn't work out, there's always next year!

mick--to the lower left of the red monarda...what are those pink flowers? summer phlox? peonies?
Deb

That is my very favorite rose, Greetings. That picture was taken just 6 weeks or so after it was planted. It is a real trooper - bloomed from June through October last year. Some of the clusters had 30+ buds. The center is white and yellow and the pinks range from a gorgeous almost magenta that gradually fades to soft pink before the long-lasting blooms drop. It's only drawback, the Japanese beetles love it, too. It's already had its first bloom this year (been blooming already for over a week, where most of the roses are still getting started up.)
Here is a picture of a blooming cluster that shows the range of colors.

mickgene--congratulations on giving the monarda a whack! So how much did you cut back? One-third? My new 'Jacob clines' are prime candidates for my pruning session too and I suppose I will follow your lead. Sob.

dmj--yes, TX is quite a different gardening environment from Ohio. I have only visited TX 3 times and was impressed by the gardens in Dallas (but not in Amarillo, especially). Don't know about Houston, but will get there soon I hope as my sis just moved there this year. I was surprised to find out that the "Well-tended" author is from Ohio.

So, for me, It's not so much about having it look nice enough, but more about managing the bloom sequence and getting the heights to align and all that sort of stuff that may be/no doubt is beyond my skills right now.

Went to another library to see if they had the book. Checked out.

tabasco, I actually did about 1/2 of the stems and cut them individually, cutting back to a leaf node woth emerging leaves. I figure if I'm going to delay some flowers, it would be even nicer if there were multiples when they did bloom. But most of them ended up being about 1/3 to 1/2 cut back in height. I'm not sure how long to wait to do the second pruning. If you find the book, please post that info.

thanks, levilyla. I'll be interested to see what happens since they weren't pruned until late May. I'm not really sure that they could have been pruned in early May, though. The cool nights we were having until the last week had kept the monarda from doing much.

lev-- you're a pretty good resource! Thanks for all the detail from "The Well-tended Perennial Garden"!

I'm going out to selectively prune (not 'whack') right now.

I have lots of 'bee balm' and I never know quite how to keep it in check. I'll practice on that since I don't really like it anyway! LOL

Tabasco, you have dmail

voss--thanks! So great to get the pic of your espalier.

Can't you post it here please so we can see what pruning and preening is all about?!!

tobasco - I got mine used from Amazon last year.. I just checked, and they're available....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881924148/sr=8-1/qid=1149040117/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-4907365-6975103?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Hey, this is a pretty interesting thread... I went to see Tracy Disabato-Aust at a gardening seminar in March. It was an awful experience for her, I'm sure, with a slide projector that wouldn't work, and some lady in the audience complaining about the photographer the whole time.

To tell the truth, I've gotten more out of this thread than the lecture! But she had some great ideas about bloom time and keeping the garden going in the heat of summer and fall. I suspect the book is quite helpful.

If you want the book now, I found at least 43 copies:

http://www.fetchbook.info/compare.do?search=0881924148

I bought this book last year and tried it for some new fall pruning ideas. I found Tracy Disabato-Aust's book very useful and practical. The techniques I have incorporated have worked well for me...the ones I have been brave enough to try that is. I even made a laminated "cheat sheet" of the pruning ideas she has for the plants I grow. I keep the sheet in my gardening bucket and carry it with me every trip I take to my gardens. If the book is updated enough, I will purchase that too. I am now going to cut my monarda back by a third or so just to give it an angle for viewing. I am trying to get up the nerve to cut an angle on my tickseed; it is always beautiful, but a little too tall for its spot in the garden.

Very interesting discussion. I may have read an excerpt when this book first came out (Fine Gardening Magazine?)

I walked the gardens tonight with succession of bloom on my mind. We're about 2 weeks earlier this year than usual due to the recent heat so I'm thinking I need to consider cutting back...well, something...

I'm concerned about rounding the corner on August and finding that everything is done for the year. I may have to find this book now. Or figure out some additional perennials to bridge this year's gaps (late July to mid August?) - any suggestions?

Catherine

Cone flowers/echinacea bloom into october here. I planted some lilies that bloom in early/mid/late august, asters bloom in sept/oct. Dont forget dahlias, but those have to be dug up here in zone 5a and stored over winter. I started a new flower bed which I tried to get plants that would bloom after mid july into fall. I'll see how it goes since it is only 3 1/2 weeks old... Speaking of early, the heat wave spent the life on our peonies they only lasted 3 days :*(

Here is a cute pic, I know it doesnt have to do with cutting back...

Can peonies be cut back or will that just keep them from blooming?

Good list intercessor - and great photo!

I've got autumn blooming anemones, sweet autumn clematis, (hopefully) a fall flush of roses and my foilage plants to look forward to. I guess I could plop in some mums.

My coneflowers are already in full bud! Never happened in May before and the phlox I guess will get cut back this year to see if that will delay some bloom. And my asiatic lilies are in bud too...the oriental lilies should be late July but who knows this year?

My peonies didn't outlast last weekend's heat either - here and gone

I planted 4 types of Helenium last fall. They are late summer/fall bloomers. I also have an annual salvia, which would be perennial in some areas, that reseeds and adds a lot of color to my late summer garden.

Susan

Intercessor, I don't think peonies can be pruned this way. I believe it would keep it from blooming.

I saw a thread last year about pinching tall phlox (P.paniculata) to keep them shorter and easier to manage. One member said she pinched only the stems on the outside of the clump, making these stay shorter and bloom later, while holding the taller, earlier blooming stems upright. The "pruning" my tall phlox recieved last year from the tree falling into the garden proved this to be true. I still had blooms in late November. With what's been presented on this thread, I'm wondering about just pruning 1/3 to 1/2 of the stems of many other perennials. Perhaps that would give you the best of both worlds?

Well, that's what I was thinking, gem, but I don't have enough nerve (except for the beebalm and a few other weedy types)!

How interesting that you got to hear her talk, Ivy, even under challenging circumstances. It would be great to get her in a room and be able to just quiz her on these points of hesitation. (But I guess she wants us to buy the book to find out!!) LOL

I wanted to wait to buy the new edition of the book coming out in August, but I went ahead and ordered a used copy for now. I hope I am not too sorry, since from my previous read, I thought her information was good about pruning (at least in theory, anyway), but the pictures and her text left something to be desired.

I planted Helenium last fall and Wintersowed more this year. I thought it was great to have bloom very late in the season with some very late daylilies.

We seem to have early bloom this year too. Lot's of fun now not having to wait, but come August we may be experience bloom deprivation! Time to go to the Lake, then, I guess?!!

Am trying to decide whether to 'cut back' this little low campanula in the hopes of more blooms, but I think that might be futile/fatal. LOL Any advice?

That's a real sweetie of a campanula. Do you know which one it is?

Looks like poscharskyana...I cut mine back after flowering and it stays green all year. Not many more blooms however.