Cut back for more flowers

The Chelsea chop will help some perennials

- Ruth Hayes

THE RHS Chelsea Flower Show takes place next week which means it’s also the start of the season of the Chelsea Chop. This is an easy way of keeping summer perennials neat and encouraging them to flower for longer, throughout summer and into the autumn.

It is especially useful on plants with a tendency to sprawl and flop over their neighbours, such as nepeta (cat mint) and sedums. By shortening their stems by around a third you can delay flowering and create a more compact plant with a greater number of blooms, though they are likely to be smaller than the originals.