Back in June, I pinched back one of my Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ as a pruning experiment. You can read the original post here.
I then updated the results in early September which you can also read here.
I’m here today to state that I will, without a doubt, be pinching back all of my Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ in June next year. The ultimate size of the plant that was cut back didn’t differ much from the unpruned plants, but the blooms on the pruned plant have persisted longer into fall and that is enough to convince me it is worth it.
Here is a bloom on the pruned Sedum (as of today):
And a bloom on one of the unpruned plants (as of today):
The difference may be subtle, but I’ll take any extended bloom color whenever I can get it.
Maybe I’ll do a double pinch back next year and analyze the results.
Is it June yet?
John
I cut my sedum all the way back every year after the blooms are done…they gorw back like crazy the next year…I ended up having to dig up the whole plant last year because it got way too big for the area I planted it in…it looks great now!
Great info…pinching back my sedums is on my to do list for the spring and now June. I like the new look of your blog!
You’ve convinced me. I’ve heard gardeners talk about the pinch and how it keeps sedums from getting tall and falling over, which mine do. Thanks for posting pictures of the experiment, I’ll be pinching mine next year!
Took your advice back in June and cut back the sedums in one of the beds. They are still blooming beautifully. The ones I didn’t cut back are starting to fade and are flopping on the ground. I’ll be pinching them all back next June.