Well hello there, and welcome to part three of my beyond riveting “Prune in June” series. Prepare yourself for some more hardcore pruning experimentation. Good times.
Previously, we covered Boltonia (False aster) and Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) and today, we will take a look at Helenium autumnale, also known as Sneezeweed:
I love this native perennial as it has bloomed profusely for me for years at the end of summer and into early fall. BUT (and this is a big but) they almost always topple over once they are in full bloom, which makes them a bit difficult to truly enjoy:
I’ve known for years that these plants need to be cut back or pruned throughout the growing season to attempt to control the height and ultimately prevent them from falling over. Tracy DiSabato-Aust told me so, but for reasons unknown, I’ve never heeded that advice.
Because I’m dumb.
But no more my friends.
Here’s what one of my sneezeweed plants looked like pre-haircut:
And here is the same plant cut down by half:
Ms. DiSabato-Aust suggests cutting back sneezeweed by a 1/2 to 2/3 in mid-June so I did just that.
Other options are to cut the plants back to 12 inches in mid-July which results in plants half their normal size and a delay in bloom of about six weeks. I’m considering this option on another sneezeweed plant so more to come on that.
Also, plants that were previously pruned for height control can have 4 to 6 inches cut off the tips when in bud to delay flowering by a week or two. I’ll have to think about doing this as well but most likely, I’ll chicken out … we’ll see.
For contrasting purposes, here is another sneezeweed that was “deer pruned” a few weeks ago so I am going to leave it as is to see if the more drastic pruning provides better results. Those deer are just so great with all their helpful pruning:
And just because I am a good guy and want nothing more than to educate you, here is an unpruned plant that will remain unpruned. It does get some support from surrounding plants but most likely, it will fall as it usually does. But that’s OK, I am willing to sacrifice for the greater good:
So there you have it, another pruning adventure out in my garden. I am sure you are all dying to see the results and I will give you those results along the way.
Because I care about my readers.
John
Ugh…as much as I love them, you’re absolutely right, they are practically guaranteed to flop if not pruned…and I’ve completely forgotten about it until you just reminded me! I’ll be interested to see your comparisons.
Mine are blooming now, just opening. Can’t bring myself to prune them….maybe after the first round of blooms. I did prune back my Gaura, Deutzia, and Itea today. Tiny success.
I pruned my Eupatorium after reading your post about doing it did it just the same way. It’ll be interesting to see what happens. I have one small division of Helenium out there, I guess I should prune that too. I’m really getting a lot out of your posts about pruning. I’ve read Tracy’s book too, but never seem to remember when to do what.
Well, I know I can’t wait to see the results.
I’m having a great time revisiting my TDA books thanks to you. Have pruned the peonies and the veronica which just finished blooming, but that’s about it for now. Am waiting a few more weeks to cut down the crysanthemums and the sedum (Autumn Joy).
i enjoyed this. thank you. was looking for advice on what to do at end of season – do they just dry up & come back next year? that’s my guess. Yes, mine all flopped over & i’ve now propped them up with stakes. it works pretty well. next year i’ll prune my helenium in June!! i am a new gardener and have different wildflowers – gardens – around the yard. this is my first flowering season.
Thanks so much Kate! They do come back year after year and now pop up all over my yard and unfortunately, they fall over with regularity. I’ve come to placing them next to grasses which prop them up and both shine around this time of year. I may add a pic to my next post so check it out. Thanks for stopping by and welcome.