I do that to asters. This year I did it to Autumn Joy. Will also try it on the helianthus. Really does great on Asters! Provided the perfect bloom time!
Just started working on my sedums a couple of days ago. I also chop back my mums, or they'd be blooming by late July. I need to do this to my phlox, because they are silly tall already!
oh, you can go further back, have you ever heard of the Florida drag or the PC bop...PC meaning Panama City (FL), thatcould easily be a cool move, which means this all was before the Twist and the shuffle...ha, fun memories of the late 50s and 60s! 🤩💃🕺👍❤️
I'm always scared to do this as I feel I'd take too much off and won't have any blooms! I also didn't realize it had a name ;) Thanks Erin for always keeping us in the know :)
I chop my Penstemon in a wedge shape, making the low side the side most seen. I usually leave the back of the plant tall, not cutting it back. The top blooms first. Then the "wedge" blooms next. It makes for a nice show of flowers all the way up the front of the plant. I like to do this with my Fall blooming Asters too. ✂️ Also, bcuz I live in the South, normally my Chelsea Chop season is a bit earlier by about 6 weeks. If I start hearing the phrase Chelsea Chop, and I haven't done it yet - Uh Oh!!! I might be a chop-aholic! ✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️ But it sure does make a good flower show!!!
I never knew this chopping back had a name. My father taught me to chop, skear, and mow pretty much everything in the garden in June. perennials, annuals, and some shrubs, all got to meet tthe blades.
Thank you Erin! I did the same thing with my Penstemons for the first time - only chopped a few - we’ll have to compare notes later in the season. I do love that purple foliage!
This is my first ish year going all in to the gardening ☺️ my bf sey that I have the flower madness 😆😆 I love your videos giving me grate tips. Though the chelsey sounds risky at first ☺️
I Chelsea chop aster Raydon's Favorite here in central NC. It's a mistake not to. The performance is improved greatly with more flower on stronger shorter stems that (you guessed it) don't flop!
I’ve always had an area of autumn joy and some that I’ve poked in stumps, pots or places that are tricky to grow anything. Lol, I’m so glad it’s coming back into a spotlight of popularity. I can consider CC’ing it and spreading it around even more! Such a reliable easy plant.
After watching this video I went right out to my yard and did this to my sedum and some of the phlox. The sedum was pretty floppy last Fall, so hoping this will make it look better. Thanks!
Definitely not. I’m in the same zone and mine is super tall and i’ve meant to cut it back for about a week already and still haven’t. It’s on my list of things to do tomorrow.
I've never had problems with sedum flopping besides well when it gets overfertilized, or to be honest fertilized period. From having annuals nearby it especially, which they greatly benefit from getting fertilizer socked to them, but it tends to leach over to the sedum then well the rest is history. lol. ( also i've found that perennial saliva has the same issue)
Well, now that you have shown me what to do I will start chopping on the sedum, phlox and especially the Veronica because it’s already leaning! Thanks as always!
I am so glad I clicked in on this one, I have just discovered sedums and this helps a ton! Loving following your vids...wish you were further south tho...thanks again! 👍❤️👏👏👏👏👏🥰🌺🌿🍀🌳💐
I love that I can give what I’ve been doing a proper title 😂. I always Chelsea Chop the Cranesbill (perennial geraniums), and the Mums this time of year. Thanks for identifying other plants as well. I’ll add the Phlox to the list too. 🌸💖🌸
I've been going into the garden armed with two 6' bamboo canes...knocking the cicadas off the bushes and plants as I go along. There were hundreds in our raspberry bed yesterday, swarming all around me as I picked strawberries. I'm ready for them to go on their way...
I never knew this had a name. I am going to try it on my Yarrow, which gets so tall and is usually done blooming too early in the summer. Should I cut them back by half or more? Or right to the ground? Right now, they are almost 3' high.
Thanks for another great video! I find it so refreshing to prune my "possible floppies" this time of year. It looks so much neater & knowing there is one less chore to do in the heat of the summer feels good.
I can't tell you how grateful I am that you introduce us to SO many new plants on your channel. It is fantastic to learn about new varietals that are different than everyone else is growing, or what is found in every nursery around town. The Nepeta Subsessilis "Blue Prelude", and the veronicastrum virginicum "Queen of Diamonds" specifically, are ones I have not heard of until you introduced them via your channel. Thanks SO much for teaching us!
Are you familiar with the channel "John Lords Secret Garden"? The second half of today's video he talks about which of his plants need the Chelsea chop. Your talk of flopping plants reminded me of him and his dislike for plants that flop.
Erin, was there a napping baby nearby? You spoke in such hushed tones at the beginning. 😊 I was having fun in my garden today. Cutting back tulip foliage so I could plant annuals on top of the bulbs, chased the hose around since everything was bone dry. Probably not the best time of day to water, but everything looked so parched. Then I learned Minneapolis broke a heat record! Probably more of the same tomorrow. It's always so sad to say goodbye to my peony blooms once the heat hits them. This was a bumper crop year so I still have blooms. I missed my window of opportunity to gather buds and store in the fridge to have blooms in July.
I know! I sounded kind of weird at the beginning. It was so incredibly still and quiet that it just seemed weird to speak normally. I figured the whole neighborhood would hear me (although they probably do normally anyway).
I was just thinking about just my sedums cuz the flop on me but I was hesitant, especially cuz the tops get these neat rosettes and I don't want to chop that off. But the thought of getting more makes me feel better about it.
Yes it's a great way to control bloom time or promote succession blooming. I tend to be less dainty about it. More like grab it by the scruff of the neck and chop🤣
I have moonshine yellow yarrow and this is their second year. They grew back so fast it's mid/late May now and I'm seeing they are all budded up and I'm realizing whoops maybe I should have chopped them back before the buds formed. (Thinking of chopping them because last year they drooped all over the place later in the year.). Will I get in trouble doing a chelsea chop on my yarrow now in mid/late May if I am chopping off the flower buds? If they regrow new flower buds in a month or so and are just shorter then that's AOK.
I do the chop in my garden to lots of my perennials! I do it to my fall asters, my tansy and other plants. I also like that I can stagger their bloom that way.
My today list: Chelsea chop my sedums. I'm curious if this can be applied to asters to avoid them flop? I divided them already and they're growing so fast.
I usually throw my fall mums away, but two look pretty in the big pot they occupied last fall. I’ve heard you should cut them around Mother’s Day and again at Father’s Day to delay bloom until fall. Hope I’m right??? Love your garden and you wonderful videos.
Not a Chelsea Chop question, I don’t think, but when do you cut back Bleeding Heart? How long after they’re done blooming? I know they only bloom once but they take up so much room and others are drown out.
Russian sage has beautiful blue-grey flower stalks that I love! But its too tall and flops all over the place unless grown in a packed clump. I only have 2 plants strategically placed in my color scheme so to keep them in check, I give it the chop at 24in. 😉
Great video, can’t wait to tell my daughter about chopping sedum Autumn joy , because she alway complains about them opening up and flopping. I’ve seen someone do the same time to Annabelle Hydrangeas for the same reason. I’m going to do this to my Obedient plant just to see what happens, because I not don’t like the height where it’s planted. Thanks for sharing Erin, your videos are always great. 👍❤️😊
I watched this video last night, I had never heard of the Chelsea chop...great idea...imagine my surprise when I just now watched "John Lord's Secret Garden" (from Ireland) on UA-cam and he's talking about the Chelsea chop on his latest video :)
C In many countries in (Christian) Europe we call those days Ice Saints. After these days in the middle of may, frost is rare. For more than a thousand years this is used by farmers and gardeners. It would be sad people lose their Christian heritage. So no Chelsea chop for us here.
I have purple Asters that grow to around 5 feet to 6 feet tall.....I kinda like them, but wish they would stay shorter. Is there anyway I can do this to them and keep them short? or am I cutting off the blooms all the time?
I did this to Blue Fortune Agastache earlier this spring. I intentionally planted them in front of a peony to help block the boring foliage later in summer. But the agastache grew so large so quickly I couldn’t see the beautiful peonies in bloom. The peonies are done now and the agastache is growing nicely. This is a great solution to size control fast-growing perennials.
hello! Thoughts on doing this to some of my mounded sedum? We had a hail storm recently and it broke off some stems making them look really uneven so I'm wondering if this might help shape them out for later on in the season?
The thumbnail in the UA-cam app on my tv is meat. I was so confused when I saw “The Impatient Gardener” underneath it. 🤣 I love the Chelsea chop, and used it on my Monarda fistulosa and tall phlox until I pulled them both out in a fit of pique last year.
I've done the Chelsea chop for several years now after watching it done on Gardeners World and you are so right that chopping your Autumn Sedums now does stop them from flopping.
I love these informative videos--thanks! I have to chop my plants in early May here in my zone 8a garden, although I never knew it had such a fancy name! The sedum doesn't seem to care-it flops anyway because it gets too much water, but it's a reliable perennial. BTW, some of my dahlias are blooming their heads off! Still waiting for Cafe Au Lait, but it won't be long!
I planned an entire vacation around attending the Chelsea Flower Show a couple of years ago...brings back memories...I will attend again. Love your garden! Your channel exposes me to so many plants I've never seen before. Try and mention where you got your plants from, especially if they are from an online nursery we can access
I'm a hairstylist by trade, so everything gets a trim in my garden. 🤣
😂😂😂
Love it!
💕 it! 🤣
Yes I’ve used it often. One trick is to trim in three level from front to back....lower to higher. Makes a great flower display
Watch a video I made with my father who I work with as a gardener🔥🌷🌱
Never heard of chopping Autumn Joy. I always figured I had to divide them to stop the flop. Brilliant!
That helps too but I’m get pretty lazy so this is a easier way out.
Once you just stick those cuttings in and grow back easily
Oh I should have done this to my Shasta Daisy - it's almost 5 feet tall and starting to flop. Same with Veronica. Thank you for this lesson!
I do that to asters. This year I did it to Autumn Joy. Will also try it on the helianthus. Really does great on Asters! Provided the perfect bloom time!
Just started working on my sedums a couple of days ago. I also chop back my mums, or they'd be blooming by late July. I need to do this to my phlox, because they are silly tall already!
Yes do it with all my phlox 1/2 of each plant outside radius, this way I am getting twice the bloom time!!! Very good video!
The Chelsea Chop sounds like a dance move from the late 80’s…
oh, you can go further back, have you ever heard of the Florida drag or the PC bop...PC meaning Panama City (FL), thatcould easily be a cool move, which means this all was before the Twist and the shuffle...ha, fun memories of the late 50s and 60s! 🤩💃🕺👍❤️
I'm always scared to do this as I feel I'd take too much off and won't have any blooms! I also didn't realize it had a name ;) Thanks Erin for always keeping us in the know :)
I chop my Penstemon in a wedge shape, making the low side the side most seen.
I usually leave the back of the plant tall, not cutting it back.
The top blooms first.
Then the "wedge" blooms next.
It makes for a nice show of flowers all the way up the front of the plant.
I like to do this with my Fall blooming Asters too. ✂️
Also, bcuz I live in the South, normally my Chelsea Chop season is a bit earlier by about 6 weeks. If I start hearing the phrase Chelsea Chop, and I haven't done it yet - Uh Oh!!!
I might be a chop-aholic! ✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️✂️
But it sure does make a
good flower show!!!
That is genius! Thank you!
Well, it's only a good idea if it works!! Hahaha!!!
But really, it should work!
WOW I'm will definitely try this!
If y'all really do this, I really want to hear about the results!!
I hope they're as good as mine!
I'm going to try that with my monarda.
I'm so happy to hear that the Chelsea chop is a thing in the U.S 😊 love how you explain it, very informative . Always enjoy your vlogs 😊
I always do this to Joe Pye Weed because they get so tall and flop over.
Oh, that is good to know. I have several Joe Pye weed babies
Along with the pre-bloom chelsea haircuts, I do post-bloom haircuts on things like Baptisia and Amsonia to shape and avoid flopping.
This is the best thing I've learned in a while. I love pruning
I never knew this chopping back had a name. My father taught me to chop, skear, and mow pretty much everything in the garden in June. perennials, annuals, and some shrubs, all got to meet tthe blades.
I will make more sedum babies, don’t have nearly enough, it’s a great plant and looks good even without blooms, thanks Erin for a good video
Yeah, I already knew this but I plan to pop my Neon Pink Sedum cuttings everywhere. Great flower for late season
Always do the Chelsea chop on Joe Pye weed as even Baby Joe gets too tall along my driveway.
Thank you Erin! I did the same thing with my Penstemons for the first time - only chopped a few - we’ll have to compare notes later in the season. I do love that purple foliage!
My deer do a Chelsea chop to my tall phlox.
Yes they are very good at it!
This is my first ish year going all in to the gardening ☺️ my bf sey that I have the flower madness 😆😆 I love your videos giving me grate tips. Though the chelsey sounds risky at first ☺️
I chop my phlox. Then they flower later and not while all the spring flowers are blooming.
I've never heard of this but am definitely going to try it on my phlox!
What kind of Allium are in behind the Queen of Diamonds? What a gorgeous purple!
I Chelsea chop aster Raydon's Favorite here in central NC. It's a mistake not to. The performance is improved greatly with more flower on stronger shorter stems that (you guessed it) don't flop!
I’ve always had an area of autumn joy and some that I’ve poked in stumps, pots or places that are tricky to grow anything. Lol, I’m so glad it’s coming back into a spotlight of popularity. I can consider CC’ing it and spreading it around even more!
Such a reliable easy plant.
After watching this video I went right out to my yard and did this to my sedum and some of the phlox. The sedum was pretty floppy last Fall, so hoping this will make it look better. Thanks!
I'm in zone 5 and my tall phlox is already 5 feet high. Is it too late to cut it back?
Definitely not. I’m in the same zone and mine is super tall and i’ve meant to cut it back for about a week already and still haven’t. It’s on my list of things to do tomorrow.
Love your show by the way. always enjoy! I'm a Michigan/Chicago Gardner!
I don't do the "Chelsea Chop" here but I have in my old yard. I didn't know there was a name for it..
I just saw the dark stalked plant behind you and actually saw this for the first time yesterday on a walk in Blowing Rock NC. What is it?
I've never had problems with sedum flopping besides well when it gets overfertilized, or to be honest fertilized period. From having annuals nearby it especially, which they greatly benefit from getting fertilizer socked to them, but it tends to leach over to the sedum then well the rest is history. lol. ( also i've found that perennial saliva has the same issue)
Well, now that you have shown me what to do I will start chopping on the sedum, phlox and especially the Veronica because it’s already leaning! Thanks as always!
I am so glad I clicked in on this one, I have just discovered sedums and this helps a ton! Loving following your vids...wish you were further south tho...thanks again! 👍❤️👏👏👏👏👏🥰🌺🌿🍀🌳💐
My sedum almost every years gets a chop thank to the deer!
I love that I can give what I’ve been doing a proper title 😂. I always Chelsea Chop the Cranesbill (perennial geraniums), and the Mums this time of year. Thanks for identifying other plants as well. I’ll add the Phlox to the list too. 🌸💖🌸
I just cut back my sedums and mums. I try to cut them back buy the first of July.
Oh I’m so jealous…I can’t even get into my plants…they are covered with hundreds of Brood X Cicadas.
Ooo! That would freak me out! Glad we don’t have them, sounds like the plagues of Egypt!
I've been going into the garden armed with two 6' bamboo canes...knocking the cicadas off the bushes and plants as I go along. There were hundreds in our raspberry bed yesterday, swarming all around me as I picked strawberries. I'm ready for them to go on their way...
Oooo darn!
@@cynthiafisher9907 it’s not fun….they start to rot after dying & stink so bad🤢
@@LULC0759 Bleh! I’m so sorry you have to deal with that! I hope they never move to Idaho?
This was super helpful. My Autumn Joy drives me crazy every single year because of the autumn flop. I am excited to see how this helps this year!
Thank you for the reminder and the lesson Erin :)
Those were some damn good looking steaks in the middle of this video.
😂🤣
Thanks Erin! I’m going to try this out on some sedum that is already looking floppy. 🤞🏻🤗
I always wondered what the Chelsea chop was and how to utilize it. This was super informative. Thank you.
I never knew this had a name. I am going to try it on my Yarrow, which gets so tall and is usually done blooming too early in the summer. Should I cut them back by half or more? Or right to the ground? Right now, they are almost 3' high.
Great, practical advice! Thanks!!
Thanks for another great video! I find it so refreshing to prune my "possible floppies" this time of year. It looks so much neater & knowing there is one less chore to do in the heat of the summer feels good.
I can't tell you how grateful I am that you introduce us to SO many new plants on your channel. It is fantastic to learn about new varietals that are different than everyone else is growing, or what is found in every nursery around town.
The Nepeta Subsessilis "Blue Prelude", and the veronicastrum virginicum "Queen of Diamonds" specifically, are ones I have not heard of until you introduced them via your channel. Thanks SO much for teaching us!
Love learning the terminology., thanks! You have so much to offer and I always learn so much from you.
Are you familiar with the channel "John Lords Secret Garden"? The second half of today's video he talks about which of his plants need the Chelsea chop. Your talk of flopping plants reminded me of him and his dislike for plants that flop.
I love him! I haven’t had a chance to watch that video yet but I’m a big fan.
Russian sage? Does anybody do this to Russian sage
I'll try that with the mums. They're already forming buds.
Great job ❤👌 Watch a video I made with my father who I work with as a gardener🌱🌲
Best explanation and actual demo I have seen! I did my sedums this year for the first time 🤞
Erin, was there a napping baby nearby? You spoke in such hushed tones at the beginning. 😊
I was having fun in my garden today. Cutting back tulip foliage so I could plant annuals on top of the bulbs, chased the hose around since everything was bone dry. Probably not the best time of day to water, but everything looked so parched.
Then I learned Minneapolis broke a heat record! Probably more of the same tomorrow.
It's always so sad to say goodbye to my peony blooms once the heat hits them. This was a bumper crop year so I still have blooms. I missed my window of opportunity to gather buds and store in the fridge to have blooms in July.
I know! I sounded kind of weird at the beginning. It was so incredibly still and quiet that it just seemed weird to speak normally. I figured the whole neighborhood would hear me (although they probably do normally anyway).
I was just thinking about just my sedums cuz the flop on me but I was hesitant, especially cuz the tops get these neat rosettes and I don't want to chop that off. But the thought of getting more makes me feel better about it.
Yes it's a great way to control bloom time or promote succession blooming. I tend to be less dainty about it. More like grab it by the scruff of the neck and chop🤣
I had no idea that's what they called it. Looking forward to trying some chop in the garden.
I have moonshine yellow yarrow and this is their second year. They grew back so fast it's mid/late May now and I'm seeing they are all budded up and I'm realizing whoops maybe I should have chopped them back before the buds formed. (Thinking of chopping them because last year they drooped all over the place later in the year.). Will I get in trouble doing a chelsea chop on my yarrow now in mid/late May if I am chopping off the flower buds? If they regrow new flower buds in a month or so and are just shorter then that's AOK.
How about a daisy that's already budded up? Too late?
I do the chop in my garden to lots of my perennials! I do it to my fall asters, my tansy and other plants. I also like that I can stagger their bloom that way.
My today list: Chelsea chop my sedums. I'm curious if this can be applied to asters to avoid them flop? I divided them already and they're growing so fast.
Yes you can do asters and also chrysanthemums 😊🌺
Thank you Erin. Great video. Your garden is looking awesome.
Thanks for reminding me to do this especially the Sedum Autumn joy! 😊💚
i chopped my zinnias and basil last year, had really full plants from it
I usually throw my fall mums away, but two look pretty in the big pot they occupied last fall. I’ve heard you should cut them around Mother’s Day and again at Father’s Day to delay bloom until fall. Hope I’m right??? Love your garden and you wonderful videos.
I’ve gone to my garden and chopped this morning thanks🤓😎🤞
I love the ferns in the back!! How fast do they spread?
I’m all about the ferns, too.
Not a Chelsea Chop question, I don’t think, but when do you cut back Bleeding Heart? How long after they’re done blooming? I know they only bloom once but they take up so much room and others are drown out.
Russian sage has beautiful blue-grey flower stalks that I love! But its too tall and flops all over the place unless grown in a packed clump. I only have 2 plants strategically placed in my color scheme so to keep them in check, I give it the chop at 24in. 😉
I never heard of this - interesting!
I always do my phlox
Can you tell us what those very deep purple flowers are in the background please? They are stunning!
Great video, can’t wait to tell my daughter about chopping sedum Autumn joy , because she alway complains about them opening up and flopping. I’ve seen someone do the same time to Annabelle Hydrangeas for the same reason. I’m going to do this to my Obedient plant just to see what happens, because I not don’t like the height where it’s planted. Thanks for sharing Erin, your videos are always great. 👍❤️😊
I watched this video last night, I had never heard of the Chelsea chop...great idea...imagine my surprise when I just now watched "John Lord's Secret Garden" (from Ireland) on UA-cam and he's talking about the Chelsea chop on his latest video :)
C In many countries in (Christian) Europe we call those days Ice Saints. After these days in the middle of may, frost is rare. For more than a thousand years this is used by farmers and gardeners. It would be sad people lose their Christian heritage. So no Chelsea chop for us here.
im a chop and drop girl.
I've been doing this with my sedum for years, but haven't tried it on my penstemon. I will try that this week.
I have purple Asters that grow to around 5 feet to 6 feet tall.....I kinda like them, but wish they would stay shorter. Is there anyway I can do this to them and keep them short? or am I cutting off the blooms all the time?
Can you stagger the bloom times on the same plant? I read an article that said to cut back Montauk daisy for more blooms. No flowers that year! Lol
Which penstemon was that??? Can’t quite understand the name you mentioned. Thanks.
I do it with mums.
After viewing your video, I went to the garden and Chelsea chopped my mum!
I’ve done this a little, especially with woody salvias in containers, but now want to do even more! Would monarda be a good candidate?
I did this to Blue Fortune Agastache earlier this spring. I intentionally planted them in front of a peony to help block the boring foliage later in summer. But the agastache grew so large so quickly I couldn’t see the beautiful peonies in bloom. The peonies are done now and the agastache is growing nicely. This is a great solution to size control fast-growing perennials.
hello! Thoughts on doing this to some of my mounded sedum? We had a hail storm recently and it broke off some stems making them look really uneven so I'm wondering if this might help shape them out for later on in the season?
The segway into the Skill Share ad has me rolling 😂😂 great video as always!
great video and really enjoying gardening 2.0 type of instructions. Thanks
I’m nervous about what you can and shouldn’t do this to. Is there anything we should leave alone?
A rabbit did the Chelsea chop on one of my sedums and it looks much better now! Thanks for the info.
I had no idea about this!
Will this work on purple cone flower? Will definitely do this to my asters next year
The thumbnail in the UA-cam app on my tv is meat. I was so confused when I saw “The Impatient Gardener” underneath it. 🤣 I love the Chelsea chop, and used it on my Monarda fistulosa and tall phlox until I pulled them both out in a fit of pique last year.
Eek! Why is it showing you that thumbnail???
@@TheImpatientGardener I don’t know! It’s even animated! 😂 UA-cam on my phone shows you in your garden. 🤷🏼♀️
My computer's thumbnail is you, Erin, but the animated hover-over part is meat. I was confused, too.
Great information! Do you know how long the blooms are delayed doing this method?
Thank you Erin. I do this with Gauras and Verbena Bonariensis and asters.
My sedums do not flop because I don’t fertilize them. 😎
Oh no, they should never be fertilized. The leaner the soil the better for them.
I've done the Chelsea chop for several years now after watching it done on Gardeners World and you are so right that chopping your Autumn Sedums now does stop them from flopping.
I love these informative videos--thanks! I have to chop my plants in early May here in my zone 8a garden, although I never knew it had such a fancy name! The sedum doesn't seem to care-it flops anyway because it gets too much water, but it's a reliable perennial. BTW, some of my dahlias are blooming their heads off! Still waiting for Cafe Au Lait, but it won't be long!
Thanks for the reminder! I always forget to do this to my sedums!
Great tip! Loved the video. I think I’ll give this a try in years to come. I’ll document or journal so I remember the details.
The deer always did the Chelsea chop for me on my tall plox 🤪
Had to move it to the backyard behind the fence
I planned an entire vacation around attending the Chelsea Flower Show a couple of years ago...brings back memories...I will attend again. Love your garden! Your channel exposes me to so many plants I've never seen before. Try and mention where you got your plants from, especially if they are from an online nursery we can access
Will do! Thank you for the suggestion.
Thank you so much, I didn't know that I could trim my sedum! I had flop for the first time last year, tonight I am going to trim it. Thank you!