Question for gardeners

[Romandub]

We put in a bunch of plants earlier this spring at our weekend place and for the most part they are doing really well. In fact, the black-eyed susans have gotten almost too big and bushy. My question is whether those should be cut back. If so, how far back? Will they bloom again this summer?

Same question about my butterfly bushes. They bloomed beautifully, but now the blooms are all dried up. Do I cut them bacK?

Thanks so much!

[Kiwismommy]

I never cut back my Black Eyed Susan's through growing season, but I do cut back the dead blooms. You may want to do this and then next fall split the clump into smaller sizes. I also grow these in containers.

I'm thinking the same for the Butterfly Bush. Both of these plants die down to nothing through the winter and send up their new shoots in the spring.....that's the time to dig out the clump and divide it into smaller clumps, or take pieces off the outside to place somewhere else.

I hope this helps!

Danita

[rosen]

You can cut the Susans back and they may put off a second shorter, smaller bloom. Take them down to just above a side shoot or a pair of leaves. They can be divided in the fall and spread around the garden or they can be divided in the spring as they emerge. It's pretty hard to mess up these hardy plants and if left to go to seed, you will probably end up w/ volunteers everywhere next year!

Trim off the dead flowers on the BF bushes back to where a stem divides (leaving you w/ a "Y"). The bush will continue to produces more flowers as the plant will develop buds at the end of the "Y". Keep the spent flowers clipped and the bush should continue to bloom till fall. You can cut the entire bush back in late winter or very early spring. (In Va. we cut them back around President's Day.) These bushes bloom on new wood every year.