Buddleia, butterfly bush, can be cut down to any size, I cut mine to between 3” to 12”, depending on the ultimate height I want to achieve. They grow vigorously to 5’ or more each season and bloom on new wood grown this year. By keeping them close to eye level I can see the beautiful butterflies they attract and have better access to cutting the sweetly scented flowers for arrangements.

Nancy cutting the Ornamental Grass

Your Rose of Sharon will reward you with denser growth and more flowers if you give her a good ‘hair cut’. Montauk Daisy’s and Mums should be cut low to the ground. Both of them benefit from two more light trimmings and reward you with stout, floriferous plants that do not flop open to show you their centers. To help me remember when to trim them I keep it close to Memorial Day and 4th of July.

	There are some woody shrubs/trees that are grown for their colorful leaves or bark, but require hard pruning because the coloration is only in the new growth. Many of these react very nicely to a pruning process called coppicing.
	The bright colorful stems of the Cornus (dogwood) shrubs have done their job by providing winter interest, it is now time to place those red stems into a vase and allow the new ones to grow. Given the right environment it will grow to 4’ X 4’ in one season. One of my favorite purple-leaved shrubs is Cotinus (smoke bush).
	Every Spring I coppice them so I have deep purple leaves, although by doing this I sacrifice the flowers, the ‘smoke’ for which it is named. No need to be fearful of pruning, located in the tips of branches is a growth hormone. When the branch is clipped, it will most probably split into two branches. If we are talking about flowering shrubs and plants, that means twice the amount of flowers!

Join us for hands-on gardening sessions at The Common Ground on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays from April through November.

Happy and healthy gardening!
Nancy Angermaier, the Purple Lady