Many turn toward native gardening with the hope of reducing their yard work. In my experience, a well-designed wildlife garden eventually eliminates most annual maintenance. After establishment, there is no mulching, no fertilization, no repurchasing of annuals and no raking out the beds. In fact, I think the only maintenance I ever do in my own garden revolves around one practice: cutting stems.
Many of our showiest native plants, especially those that bloom in summer, can grow tall and unmanageable in smaller garden spaces. Asters, in particular, often grow 4 to 5 feet tall. During the growing season, tall plants can flop over into pathways or lean past garden edges. In spring, dead stems can seem like a messy tangle. Let’s go over some techniques to trim stems, living or dead, and improve the look of a native garden.
Trimming tools
I always keep my pruning shears close at hand. Any sharp, well-made pair of pruning shears, either bypass or anvil style, will serve you well. I frequently use ratchet pruners, which can trim up to 1 inch of woody stems.
If you have a lot of stems to trim all at once, a pair of hedge trimmers will save you time. For delicate stems, like those of moss phlox (Phlox subulata), I’ve even used household scissors to neaten edges along the sidewalk.
Spring cleanup
Most of my yard work happens during early spring cleanup. As the weather warms, I begin to go outside again and consider which dead stems need cutting. I use these guidelines to quickly make decisions:
- Cut stems back to the ground that have fallen into a pathway or the first foot of the garden edge.
- Cut back upright stems within 1 foot of the garden edge to 18 inches tall, or roughly knee height.
- Leave most other stems standing and step lightly in the garden, as this year’s butterflies, moths and fireflies are sheltering in the leaf litter.
These guidelines support the wildlife gardener’s dual responsibility: to make outdoor spaces functional for wildlife and aesthetically pleasing to those who view them. For example, cluttered paths are both a tripping hazard and a deterrent to visitors. However, cutting border stems down to 18 inches provides a home for the next generation of stem-nesting bees.
As your garden matures, you may also want to consider dethatching some beds. Smaller garden beds can fill up with tall stems in a way that resembles a brush pile. As long as you can see young plants through the gaps, you can leave this material where it is, but, again, for aesthetic reasons, you may want to thin down the thatch to showcase your plants a little better.
Managing height and density
As the season carries on, I keep a close eye on my garden. Last year’s plants have spread their seeds and anything might come up anywhere. I pay particular attention to my path edges, as I wish the mail carrier to reach my door unmolested.
Just as when I’m designing a garden, I only want plants 1 foot from the edge to grow 1 foot tall, and those 2 feet from the edge to grow 2 feet tall. If a smooth aster (Symphyotrichum laeve) takes up residence by the sidewalk, I can either dig it up or give it a chop.
Chopping back stems to manage height is an old gardener’s trick, often called the Chelsea chop, as many gardeners start chopping around the time of England’s Chelsea Flower Show in May. However, I’ve found that chopping the right plant at the right time requires subtlety and art. If I want that pushy aster to develop into a short, bushy shrub, I may need to chop it three times across weeks or even months. That may sound like a chore, but all I do is sit on my porch, cast my eyes over the garden and, if a few stems need a trim, briefly relinquish my beer for the pruners.
I have overpruned a few times as well. If a plant has started budding, it probably won’t grow new blooms after chopping. Additionally, one year I cut back my wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) too hard and too late in the season. Between that and a drought, there were no blooms at all.
As a general rule, you can prune nonwoody meadow plants down to one-third of their size. The plant will put out two new stems from that point. If you repeat the process over time, those additional branching stems will create a denser plant. This will often delay the plant’s bloom by a few weeks.
A late-season trick
When your plants have reached their full height and begun to bloom, your chopping days have ended. For plants that continue to lean or fall into your pathways, I have a little trick. Waist-high wire garden fences, which typically come as interlocking panels, can hold up your leggy asters and goldenrods, creating an effect like a bouquet at the top.
Jimmy Rogers is an avid native gardener in the City of Laurel and owner of Vibrant Gardening LLC.