Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: 'Chelsea chop' prolongs flowering

Dear Helen: Are you familiar with something called the “Chelsea chop”? I heard the term used recently, but did not pick up any of the information around it, except that it had something to do with gardening.The Chelsea chop is a method for pruning some perennials to prolong flowering. It can be used on substantial clumps of tall garden phlox , Monarda , Heliopsis, Echinacea and similar plants.

As with almost all plantings, a strong and productive outcome in peas begins with soil that is reasonably fertile, rich in organic matter, and efficient at retaining moisture while draining efficiently of excess water. As flowering begins, a top dressing of compost will further boost the health and productivity in the vines as it also enhances moisture retention in the soil.Dear Helen: I always have cucumber, pumpkin and squash plants in my summer garden and, inevitably, “volunteer” plants of their type appear in May — from seeds in the odd discarded or missed fruit or from vegetable waste dug into vegetable plots.

The concern is that the reversion process could involve inclusion of a bitter, possibly toxic chemical that was present in ancestral species of these plants.

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Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: Evergreen perennials retain foliage year roundOne example, Epimedium (barrenwort, bishop’s hat), forms dense carpets of heart-shaped leaves and delicate flowers like miniature columbines appear in spring.
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Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: Pansies, violas among easiest transplants to grow from seedSeed pansies and violas indoors in late winter and in mid-July for transplants to bloom during autumn and winter before full flowering in spring.
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Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: Cool temperatures curbed weedLast year saw a week-long heat wave in mid-May, followed by a long, dry period until significant rains began in mid-October. Let’s hope for less difficult growing conditions this year.
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Helen Chesnut's Garden Notes: How to increase moisture retention in potted plantsAdding a heavier, more substantial all-purpose sterilized soil adds substance and “staying power” to potting mix.
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Helen Chesnut: This month a reminder of seasons that used to beTime to complete spring projects that help to smooth the passage to summer in the garden.
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Helen Chesnut: Plant sales have become spring traditionThe active growing season is fully upon us and that can mean only one thing: lots and lots of plant sales.
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