I know, you thought you were reading an article on a gardening site, and here we are talking about some kind of new haircut?
No, the Chelsea chop is not the last lob. It is actually a method of flower pruning to encourage more flowers and stronger growth.
We connect with suppliers to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we can earn a commission.
Knowing when to use Chelsea chop and how to use it can completely change your garden.
It improves flowering, allows you to change the flowering schedule and can support drooping stems.
This guide will help you, from start to finish. Here’s what we’re talking about:
What is the Chelsea Chop?
The Chelsea chop was popularized at the Chelsea Flower Show in London, England, although gardeners informally used this pruning method long before.
For big, herbaceous perennials, it’s a fantastic method to know and use. Especially if you have plants that tend to want to reach for the sun, so they end up looking a bit unbalanced.
Each stem you cut will be encouraged to form side shoots, which means you’ll have more flowers than you otherwise would have.
It doesn’t take much for this method to work. All you need are some sharp, clean pruners or scissors.
The other vital tool is a bit of bravery on your part. I know it’s a bit scary to cut down a plant without any finesse. But I promise you it will all work out eventually.
When to prune
The key to getting the Chelsea shot right is timing it right.
It won’t do you any good if you cut your plants in the fall. Well, it’s possible, but you won’t do the Chelsea Chop method.
For those living in England (and regions with a similar climate, such as the Pacific Northwest), the timing is simple.
Just wait for the good old Chelsea Flower Show to roll around and it’s time to get to work. This happens at the end of May, in case you are unaware of your Royal Horticultural Society activities.
For all others, adjust accordingly. If you’re a little further north in North America, you’re probably looking at mid-June.
Those who live in warmer coastal or southern climates should probably be ready to go to work by the end of April.
You are looking to prune when the plants have developed a good height but are not yet budding. And it’s not the end of the world if you just do it a little late or early. That’s the beauty of this simple process.
How to make the cut
When we prune our fruit trees and rose bushes, we must take great care to make the right cuts.
Cut just above an outward facing knot. Make the cut at an exact 45 degree angle. Remove all but five canes. You probably know the drill.
One of the advantages of this method is that it is not at all precise. If you had a lawn mower with a high enough blade, you could do it this way.
To make the cut, you can simply grab a handful of stems and plow your way through them using your trimmer. You want to cut each plant in half to a third.
You definitely don’t have to make regular, straight cuts. If desired, cut the plants a little unevenly to create a more wild and natural look. Or cut them higher in the back and shorter in the front for an edging effect.
When you prune the entire plant, you delay flowering by at least a month. This can be useful if you have a garden bed full of different plants all blooming at the same time and you want to expand the display a bit.
If you don’t want to wait another month for flowers to appear, there’s a second method to try, and we’ll discuss that next.
go halfway
The second way to make the Chelsea chop is to cut only about half of the stems. Go ahead with your secateurs and cut off about half of the stems at random.
The advantage of doing it this way is that you will always have flowers at the normal time as well as others that will bloom later, there will just be less.
The other benefit is that the shorter stems will support the tall flower heads, so they’ll be less likely to topple over.
If you’ve ever had a big patch of soft flowers, you know how annoying it is when they look all spread out and weak.
Doing the half chop is basically a natural method of shoring up your flowers. It’s like staking them to stand them up without using real stakes.
Plus, it prolongs the flowering period because the stems you cut will continue to grow and flower, they will just do so later than the ones you didn’t cut.
Plants you can chop
This is not the correct method for annuals or woody perennials. Stick to plants that are (mostly) herbaceous and grow in large clumps, such as:
Give them the chop
There really isn’t much to Chelsea chop, but it can have an outsized impact on your plants flowering.
Are you going to try this method this spring? What plants are you going to use it on? Give us an update in the comments.
For some people extra help in shaping your plantsyou might want to check out a few of our other guides, including:
