floppy plants

by joan
(Anderson, IN)

What should we do when the bottom part of this black-eyed Susan flower lies on the ground? We thought perhaps trim that part off of the plant. What do you suggest?

Doug says if a stem has flopped over, then by all means trim it off to make the flower look good. Sometimes the taller ones do this so it's part of their "charm" (and some gardeners ignore this flopping if it's in massed clumps) I tend to prune but it becomes a personal gardening choice.

trimming after blooming

by Pat
(Atlantic City,NJ)

When may I cut off the bloomed flower and stem?


Doug says you prune off spent flowers and their stems when the flower start to fade. We call this deadheading.

Pruning Black-eyed Susans for Bushy Growth and More Flowers

by Jim
(Northeast Ohio)

During the growing season and prior to blooming, can these plants be pruned at a lower height and still bloom?

Doug says that if you're trying to keep them a little shorter, yes you can prune them. Do it when the plant gets to 12-inches (or so). Cut it back to 6-inches. This will produce a shorter, bushier plant. Taller varieties can be allowed to get a touch taller (18-inches or so) and then still cut back in half. It's not rocket science so don't get all bent out of shape about the exact heights - the important thing is to cut off all the growing tips so the plant will bush out. If this only means cutting off an inch of the top growth (and you're not comfortable really whacking it) then only take an inch off. The end product will be almost the same.

You want to do it in the spring to produce a shorter bushier and heavier flowering plant but you don't want to take a 24-inch plant later in the season and try the same thing. This will delay or eliminate flowering because the plant turns to growing foliage instead of producing flowers.

So - yes you can prune for bushy growth but it's all in the timing. (earlier you do it once the plant is past 12 inches, the better)

Pruning brown eyed susan

by NICOLE
(DEPTFORD NEW JERSEY)

Do I need to trim back the brown eyed susan every year? Prune them to the ground or will they just turn green again?


Doug says that there are two schools of thought about this. But before you look at that, understand that when winter comes the top of the plant is going to die and will not recover. It's finished and the plant will regenerate from the ground in the spring.

The first school of thought says that you prune back to the ground to clean the garden up, remove all debris and take away the spores from this year's diseases. That's my approach.

The second school is the more naturalistic style that wants "winter interest" and allows the dead foliage to remain in place for the winter because they like the look of the foliage against the snow or winter sky. This does make cleaning up the garden and removing debris difficult in the spring and many of these folks don't do this.

So the plant above ground is dead - how you prune it back in the fall (or not) depends on your thinking about how you want your garden to look

Cutting back Black Eyed Susan Daisies

by Eileen
(Streamwood, IL)

do I cut the plant down to the bottom after it flowers before winter?

Doug says that once the frost has knocked the plant back, the rest of your garden will turn black. Then it is safe to cut a black-eyed Susan daisy back. Cut it back and leave a few inches of stalks above ground. These stalks remind you of where the plant is come next spring. So if you're like me, you need the reminder of where your plants are in the garden. :-)

I note this is the same for all perennials in my garden. I clean 'em up by cutting back but leaving a few short stems as memory aids.

extending blooming time

Can you extend blooming time by cutting off the tops during bloom? We are planning a garden party Labor Day weekend, but fear the susans will no longer be blooming. Thanks in advance for your help.

Doug says that some annual varieties can indeed be encouraged to set more bloom by deadheading. But the main perennial varieties set a single flush of blooms and then they're done. Because they bloom so late in the season, getting a second set is extremely difficult - particularly if you're looking for a fast turnaround (asked mid-August for an end-August rebloom).

You could try to deadhead the spent blooms (this will make the plant look better in any case) but do not expact further blooms in your timeframe. And if you live in a cold climate (you don't say where you're gardening) then you won't get a secondary bloom - you "might" extend blooming time if you have a very late fall in a warmer climate.

Pruning Black Eyes Susans before blooming

by Joyce Hollingsworth
(Indiana)

I have planted black eyed susans and day lilies interspersed together in my garden. The black eyed susans are overtaking and growing much higher than the day lilies so I can't see the day lily blooms. Can I cut back the black eyed susans before they bloom so they don't get so tall? Will they bloom if I cut them back?

Doug says that yes, you can cut back the daisies when they reach 12-18 inches tall. Cut tham back by 1/3 approximately (it's not rocket science re meaurements)

This will force them to bush out and be thicker but not taller and lanky.

Having said that, if your daisies are overtaking your daylilies - you may want to get a shorter variety of black eyed Susan or a taller variety of daylily.

And with these two plants, it will indeed be a contest to see which one can "eat" the other.

The other alternative is to thin out the daisies so they're not as full and allow the daylilies to expand into that area over a few years.