Your borders gave you a glorious first flush in May, didn’t they? And now, in June, half of them are flopping open, going leggy, browning at the tips and setting seed already? Before you sigh and decide the show is over for the year, wait! There are many perennials that don’t just tolerate a good chop right now – they absolutely love it, and they will reward you with a second wave of flowers, sometimes bigger and better than the first!
In fact, this little June ritual – many of us gardeners call it the “Chelsea Chop”, because we do it right after the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in late May – is spreading from allotment to allotment all over the world. And you’ll be surprised!
And I am not just talking about a sad little trim of a few dead heads; there are plants here that you can cut almost to the ground and watch them come roaring back! A June garden does not need to be a tired, floppy one! And when we say “cut back”, we also mean shaping, thinning, staggering the bloom so some flower in July and some in September, keeping the mildew away, and stopping that miserable mid-summer gap where nothing seems to be doing much…
So, give your borders a second life this summer, with fresh green mounds, sturdy stems and a whole new flush of blooms! There are some really wonderful perennials waiting for your secateurs – and quite a few surprises as well, I promise.
So let’s look at 10 perennials that are often worth reaching for the pruners this month…
1. Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
First on our list a soft, velvety perennial that many of us gardeners call the queen of morning dew! Its large, rounded, somewhat palmately lobed leaves form lush, low mounds of pale green foliage that catch every drop of water like tiny jewels!
And when those first chartreuse, frothy flower sprays start to brown in mid-June — usually the second or third week when the color turns straw and the petals drop — you may think this delicate beauty is too soft for a hard cut… But it isn’t, really!
Grab your sharp shears and shear the whole flowering mound back by half, taking every spent stem down to four or five inches above the crown. Make your cuts just above a fresh leaf cluster where you can see tiny green nubs hiding in the foliage; those are your new shoots.
Strip away all the brown flower stems and any tired, yellowing lower leaves while you are at it. Water deeply after the cut, and mulch lightly with compost to keep the roots cool.
In two weeks, fresh velvety foliage will push up from the crown, and by late July you may even catch a lighter second flush of those tiny chartreuse blooms glowing like lanterns in the evening light.
2. Perennial Salvia (Salvia nemorosa)
Perennial salvias are probably the easiest plants on this list to get a genuine second flush from. In fact, if you grow varieties like ‘May Night’, ‘Caradonna’, ‘Blue Hill’, or ‘Marcus’, skipping this June trim often means missing out on weeks of additional flowers.
The trick is timing.
Don’t rush out with the pruners while the plant is still looking good. Wait until most of the flower spikes have faded and the vibrant purple or blue color has started turning brown. You’ll usually see a few fresh green shoots developing lower down in the plant by this point. That’s your signal.
Many gardeners simply deadhead the spent flower spikes individually. It works, but it is slow and often produces a weaker response.
Instead, grab a pair of hedge shears and reduce the entire plant by roughly one-third to one-half. On a 24-inch-tall plant, that usually means cutting it back to about 10 to 15 inches tall.
The important thing is to cut just above fresh leafy growth. Don’t shear all the way down into old woody stems at the base. Salvia dislikes being cut into completely bare wood.
The result can look slightly brutal for a week or two. You may think you’ve ruined the plant.
You haven’t.
Within 10 to 14 days fresh stems start pushing upward. Three to six weeks later, depending on weather and variety, new flower spikes begin appearing. The second display is usually not quite as massive as the first spring show, but it is often surprisingly close.
And there’s another benefit many gardeners miss.
A June haircut prevents the center from splitting open later in summer. Instead of becoming floppy and sprawling, the plant stays compact, dense and attractive right into August.
If conditions are dry, give the plant a deep watering after pruning. A light application of compost around the crown can also help fuel that fresh burst of growth.
For me, this is one of the most satisfying June jobs in the garden. Ten minutes of work often buys another six to eight weeks of flowers.
3. Larkspur (Delphinium elatum)
Its dense, deeply lobed and rich green leaves create a bold basal clump that will bless you with a striking, fleshy texture! The large, papery leaves keep this gorgeous forest green color even when the baking early summer heat arrives.
It is also an extraordinary flowering plant, with magnificent, towering silvery blue and purple blooms that come in early summer, to announce the warm season to you, your family and pollinators. But… “If I cut these massive stalks, will it ever grow back?” you may say… Absolutely!
These towering beauties exhaust themselves making those whopping flowers, so the moment the first flush fades and drops petals in late June, you must act fast.
Grab your shears and cut the main hollow stalks completely down to a few inches above the soil line, right where the new basal foliage is emerging.
This dramatic chop stops seed production entirely; in fact, it forces the roots to push up a brilliant, stunning second set of slightly shorter, but equally radiant, late-summer spikes! The sturdy, upright stem bases that you leave behind dry to a neat golden color, and they are very decorative too!
4. Catmint (Nepeta)
Catmint is probably the most forgiving perennial on this entire list. In fact, if you’ve never cut back a perennial before, this is the one I would start with.
Its soft, finely textured silvery green foliage forms beautiful spreading mounds that seem to glow in the sunshine. Then come the clouds of lavender-blue flowers, creating a hazy, colorful display that pollinators simply cannot resist. Bees absolutely adore it!
But by mid to late June, many catmints start looking a little tired. The flowers fade. The stems begin sprawling outward.
And that neat, tidy mound suddenly resembles a plant that has had one too many drinks… You may think the season is over.
It isn’t, really. This is exactly when many of us gardeners reach for the shears.
Unlike Veronica or Salvia, where we often cut individual flower stems, catmint responds beautifully to a much more dramatic haircut. Once most of the flowers have faded, shear the entire plant back by about one third to one half.
Yes, the whole plant. I can hear you… “Surely that is too much?” you are thinking. The first time feels brutal.
One minute you have a flowering plant. Five minutes later, you have what looks like a slightly flattened mound of silvery foliage.
Trust me. Leave a few inches of leafy growth behind and the plant will thank you for it.
What you don’t want to do is cut right into old, bare woody stems at the center of the clump. Follow the flowering stems down until you reach fresh green growth, and make your cuts there.
Then wait. A week later you’ll notice fresh shoots appearing everywhere. The plant becomes denser, greener and much more compact. The floppy stems disappear, the tired flowers are gone, and the entire clump suddenly looks fresh again.
And then comes the real reward… New flower buds begin forming. Will the second flush be as enormous as the first spring display?
Not usually. But it can be surprisingly close, especially if the plant receives a deep watering after pruning and a little compost around the base.
And here’s something many gardening articles never mention: even if you didn’t get a single extra flower, the haircut would still be worthwhile. Untrimmed catmint often looks exhausted by July, while cut-back plants remain neat, lush and attractive for the rest of summer.
5. Blanket Flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora)
By the end of June, this sprawling, stiff mound of somewhat leathery, pale green leaves becomes a completely tangled, leggy mess! The dense, slightly fuzzy foliage keeps its vibrant, bright green tonality even in our baking heat, but the brittle stems absolutely need a heavy hand before they snap.
Of course, it explodes with jaw dropping, fiery crimson and golden blooms in early summer, to announce the sweltering season to you, your family and pollinators!
But… “Why take shears to a plant that is still throwing out flowers?”
you may say… Let’s be honest; if you do not step in and shear the entire whopping plant back by exactly one-third right now, it will exhaust itself setting seed! Snipping cleanly right above a lateral leaf node is the absolute secret; this ruthless June shaping instantly redirects the roots’ energy into a stunning, compact, and intense second wave of fiery daisies!
The round, spiky seed pods that form after flowering look like miniature copper globes, and they are very decorative too!
6. Coreopsis (Tickseed)
Coreopsis is a little different from salvia. With salvia, we’re usually aiming for a genuine second flush of flowering. With coreopsis, we’re trying to stop the plant from exhausting itself after its first big bloom period.
Many varieties start flowering heavily in late spring. By June, the plant may be covered with hundreds of fading flowers, seed heads and tired stems. From a distance it still looks colorful. Up close, it often looks messy.
This is when a light shearing works wonders.
Rather than deadheading every individual flower, which can take forever, simply trim the entire plant back by about one-third.
For example, if your coreopsis mound is 18 inches tall, reduce it to roughly 12 inches.
Don’t cut down to the ground. That’s a common mistake. The goal is to remove old flowers and developing seed heads while leaving plenty of healthy green foliage behind.
Within a couple of weeks the plant starts producing fresh side shoots. Those side shoots become new flowering stems. This is particularly effective with long-blooming varieties such as ‘Moonbeam’, ‘Zagreb’, ‘Early Sunrise’, and many threadleaf coreopsis cultivars.
You can often repeat the process later in summer if flowering starts slowing again.
Another advantage is that the plant stays neat and compact. Untrimmed coreopsis often becomes floppy by midsummer, especially after heavy rain.
I can hear you… “Won’t I lose flowers by cutting off buds?” A few, yes. But you’ll usually gain many more later. Think of it like pinching annuals. You’re sacrificing a small amount of immediate color to encourage a larger, longer-lasting display.
After trimming, water thoroughly if the weather is hot. A light feeding with compost is usually enough. Too much fertilizer can encourage excessive leafy growth at the expense of flowers.
For gardeners who want blooms from June right into fall, this may be the single most useful maintenance task they can do with coreopsis.
7. Stoke’s Aster (Stokesia laevis)
Its glossy, somewhat leathery and spoon-shaped leaves form low, spreading rosettes of deep green foliage that males a perfect edging plant even when not in bloom!
And when the first fluffy, lavender and violet cornflower-like blooms finish their early show by mid-June — usually when the petals are looking papery and the center disk is fully exposed — you may think this southern beauty is done for the year… But it isn’t, really!
Shear the whole plant back by about one-third to one-half its total height, which usually means cutting to about four or five inches above the basal rosette.
Make your cuts just above a fresh leaf or a new shoot that is emerging from the crown; you will often see these little green nubs hiding at the base of each flowering stem.
Remove every spent flower stem, and if any of the outer leaves are looking ratty or brown, snip those off too so the whole plant looks like a fresh, tidy mound of green. Water it deeply after pruning, and if you are in a hot climate, give it a light layer of mulch to keep the roots cool while it recovers.
In two to three weeks, new flowering stems will push up from that crown, and by late July you will have a fresh wave of stunning, bright blue and white flowers all through August. The second round is often more compact and the flower heads are sometimes a bit smaller, but there are more of them, and the color is just as intense!
8. Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’)
I can hear you… “Surely a delicate flower like that can’t survive a hard June cut!” you are thinking. Well, not if you are too timid… But this one loves a good shear! Its soft, somewhat fuzzy and finely divided leaves form low, spreading mounds of pale green foliage that look lovely even on their own!
And when the first lavender, violet and soft blue pincushion blooms start to slow down in mid-June — when the flowers are looking smaller and the stems are getting longer and thinner — take your shears and cut hard!
Cut the entire plant back by about one-third to one-half, leaving a mound of fresh basal foliage about four to six inches tall. Make your cuts just above a set of healthy leaves or a visible lateral shoot; scabiosa branches freely from the base, so you will have plenty of options.
Remove any long, leggy stems that are bare at the bottom, and snip off any yellowing leaves while you are at it. Water deeply after the cut, and if your summer is hot, give it afternoon shade while it recovers. In two to three weeks, new flowering stems will emerge, and by late July it will explode with a fresh flush of stunning, radiant flowers that keep coming until frost.
9. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Common Yarrow has soft, feathery, almost fern-like leaves that form dense, finely textured mats of bright green foliage, and it smells divine when crushed! But once the first flush is spent, this rugged plant wants a proper chop, not a gentle trim.
Cut the entire plant back by exactly half, taking every flowering stem down to six or eight inches above the ground. Make your cuts just above a node where fresh, feathery foliage is already pushing up; yarrow is tough and you will see new growth almost immediately.
Don’t leave any spent flower heads behind — the plant will put energy into seed instead of blooms if you do. Strip away any brown lower leaves while you are at it, so air can circulate around the crown. Water deeply after the cut, and give it a light drink of compost tea.
In three weeks, new stems will rise, and by late July it will explode with a second, even more intense flush of radiant color.
10. Helenium (Sneezeweed)
Helenium is one of the classic plants for the Chelsea Chop. Left untouched, many varieties can grow quite tall and sometimes flop under the weight of their own flowers by midsummer.
That’s why experienced gardeners often step in during late May or early June.
Before flower buds fully develop, cut the stems back by about one third to one half. You can trim the entire plant or only cut some stems if you want a longer flowering season. I can hear you… “Won’t I lose flowers?” you may say.
A few, perhaps.
But what you gain is often far more valuable.
The plant responds by producing extra side shoots, creating a bushier clump with stronger stems and many more flowers. Flowering is usually delayed by a couple of weeks, helping extend color well into late summer and early fall.
And when those fiery yellow, orange, copper and ruby-red blooms finally appear, they are carried on sturdier stems that are far less likely to collapse after summer storms. For many gardeners, Helenium is one of the most rewarding plants to Chelsea Chop in June.
Written By
Amber Noyes
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.