Chelsea Chop is the catchy new name for a classic gardening technique

By JESSICA DAMIANO What s the deal with the Chelsea Chop Are you gardeners familiar with it After hearing about it in recent times I did a bit of research The earliest reference I could find dates back to the early s so it might appear I m late to the party but I m not and you might not be either After all the pruning method named for the Royal Horticultural Society s Chelsea Flower Show which is held every May in the U K is one I ve been practicing and advocating for all along without the garden show tie-in But things with catchy names tend to take on a life of their own as the Chelsea Chop has on social media And that s a good thing because it popularizes a useful technique This Aug image provided by Jessica Damiano shows Joe Pye weed at the center of a garden bed surrounded by black-eyes Susans and purple coneflowers on Long Island N Y Jessica Damiano via AP This June image provided by Jessica Damiano shows yarrow in bloom on Long Island N Y Jessica Damiano via AP This Sept image provided by Jessica Damiano shows asters in bloom on Long Island N Y Jessica Damiano via AP This June image provided by Jessica Damiano shows salvia in bloom on Long Island N Y Jessica Damiano via AP Show Caption of This Aug image provided by Jessica Damiano shows Joe Pye weed at the center of a garden bed surrounded by black-eyes Susans and purple coneflowers on Long Island N Y Jessica Damiano via AP Expand What s involved in the chop The method involves pruning certain perennials those with clumping roots like coneflower Echinacea black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia goldenrod Solidago sneezeweed Helenium Salvia and yarrow Achillea by cutting each stem back by one-third to one-half its height in spring Cuts should be made on the diagonal just above a leaf node The chop forces plants to produce bushier upsurge resulting in sturdier tighter and fuller plants that aren t as likely to grow leggy require staking or flop over by the end of the season It also delays blooming which can benefit the late-summer garden You might get creative and prune only alternate stems so that a few bloom earlier and others later or prune only half of your plants to extend the blooming season Do not attempt this with one-time bloomers single-stemmed plants or those with woody stems the amputations would be homicidal to the current season s flowers When should you chop Gardeners should consider their environment and prune when their plants have grown to half their expected seasonal height whenever that may be The Chelsea Chop is done at different times in different places depending on plant emergence and development A variation for late-summer and fall bloomers To take things a step further several late-summer and fall bloomers like Joe Pye weed chrysanthemum and aster would benefit from three annual chops In my zone suburban New York garden that means cutting them back by one-third each in the beginning of June middle of June and middle of July Customize the schedule for your garden by shifting one or two weeks earlier per warmer zone and later per cooler zone taking the season s expansion and size of your plants into account Make the first cuts when plants reach half their expected size the second two weeks later and the third about a month after that I d like this fall-plant pruning tip to catch on as well as the Chelsea Chop has Maybe I should call it the Damiano Downsize and see what happens Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice For more AP gardening stories go to https apnews com hub gardening