Do You Chop?
There is an ancient pruning technique that is typically done in mid-May called the Chelsea Chop. Why is it called the Chelsea Chop? That’s because the timing of the cutback happens to coincide with the Chelsea Flower Show that takes place now, May 20th-24th in West London. In our hardiness zone (now 7a), we are a few weeks behind, so we can perform this later, around the first week of June.
Humans have been cultivating perennial plants for thousands of years. Legend is that early man noticed grazing animals in the vineyards and orchard fields increased better fruiting and yields. The oldest mention of pruning is in England, c.50 AD, when Romans were using pruning tools on fruit trees. Their hard pruning rejuvenated plants and promoted new growth.
The first Chelsea Flower show took place in 1913. After the show, the plantsmen would cut back the plants to make them more compact and sellable to the public. The “chop” limits the size, helps the plant from becoming too tall and leggy, and keeps the plant compact-not splayed out. The technique reduces the need for staking the plant. Chopping also delays flowering, sometimes creating smaller but more numerous flowers. Removal of the top shoots enables apical dominance, or more side/lateral branching which creates a fuller less tall plant.
Cut the plant back horizontally with sharp garden shears by ⅓ when the vegetation is growing vigorously and before bloom. If you have several clumps of the same plant you can cut back just a few in the front, depending on placement. Make sure you do your cutback before blooms appear on the plant. Cutting the plant back too late will result in no flowers.
The Chelsea Chop is not suitable for all plants. For instance, do not chop back your woody shrubs during this time of the year. Instead, there are many herbaceous perennials you can cut back such as, Asters, Echinacea, Monarda, Helenium, Solidago, Rudbeckia, to name a few. I like to use this on my Aster which always flops and splays out from the center.
Have you used this technique?
