Get pruning now to prolong the life of your garden

Pruning is a job for winter, or maybe early spring, or so we’ve been led to believe. But some of the most important pruning I do in the garden is happening right now.

Pruning now is an investment in the longevity of this year’s garden, and even though I’m still doing some “spring” jobs, like major weeding and mulching, pruning right now takes precidence over everything other than watering.

That’s because cutting back, deadheading and trimming some perennials in midsummer can refresh plants that would otherwise be tired looking come late August. 

  Sometimes I will time cut backs so the plants are fresh looking for a specific event, even taking the shears to them while they are still looking pretty good.

The ladies mantle (Alchemilla mollis) was on the receiving end of this harsh treatment last week. Although the chartreuse flowers still had acceptable color, they, along with all but the newest leaves just emerging from the crown, got the heave-ho. I followed up with a bit of fish-emulsion fertilizer and a lot of water and in a few weeks I should have fresh green foliage that will last for the rest of the summer.

It also created a bit of room for other plants growing among the ladies mantle to see more sun and put on some growth before the ladies mantle foliage returns, not to mention making it easier to do a thorough weeding and clean up the edge.

Several plants have also finished their first bloom and, if deadheaded now, should rebloom. These included some of the Veronica and most of the salvias in the garden. Although these can be cut down to the ground, I usually shear off the plant to just below the blooms where new foliage is starting to appear. The rebloom is never as good as the first bloom, but its always a bonus.

Nepeta, on the other hand, is such a good grower you might be able to coax up to three flowering periods out of it in a summer. I err on the side of cutting them back sooner rather than later because they always look better when freshened up. That also helps them stand upright rather than flopped open, if you’re growing a variety that’s prone to that kind of behavior.

Other plants are deadheaded simply because they look nicer when they are neatened up. 

With the exception of some varieties bred specifically for reblooming, most shrubs won’t bloom again in the same year, so there’s no rush to deadhead them unless the look is driving you crazy.

But there is a bit of art to timing perennial cutbacks. Do it too late and you might miss a prime moment in the garden and not get good regrowth in the end. Do it too early and plants can still look tired in late summer. The best way to figure it out is to be bold and try it out. If you have a lot of one kind of plant, cut some back sooner than others and see what timing works better for your garden.

As tempting as it is to hang up your pruners and enjoy summer, a bit of work now will have you enjoying the garden much longer.