When last we spoke of my beloved (sarcasm should be applied here) Boltonia, I had cut them back by half in the middle of June.
As you know or … as you will now know … each and every year these perennials topple over for me once they are in full bloom in late August. And each and every year I forget to cut them back in early summer prior to their blooming in order to manage their size.
But this year was different … and the early results are encouraging (although not all districts are reporting their results yet).
Here they were in mid-June untouched:
And then cut back by half:
As of this past weekend, here is how they look upon beginning to bloom:
And as of this evening with even more blooms:
I would say they are at about three feet tall right now and were closer to four to five feet tall at this time in previous years. So far so good in terms of staying upright and they have even survived some major winds and rain the past week or so.
Of course, Boltonias bloom like mad and they are only about half way there in terms of reaching their full blooming potential … but I wanted to bask in the positivity for a while.
Hopefully the good news will roll into September.
John
Bask away, John. They are gorgeous~~~loving the bluegreen of the grasses topped off with aster-like blooms…who could ask for more.
BlessYaMan
I am getting some ideas about gardening from you – I had never heard of cutting back plants to keep them from toppling over like this! Your results are so good, I will have to try it next year! And encourage my mother, too!
I’d no idea Boltonia are one of those plants that should be cut back. I’d always blamed the excessive flopping of mine on too much shade. Now I have something to try next year – thanks!
Lovely lovely Boltonias. They tend to become overwhelming but you’ve done a great job cutting back yours. They look great.
I love Boltonia. After eight years mine did not come back this year, but I will get a new one, Snowbank I think, supposedly does not flop as much.
Eileen