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Cottage Gardens

Tall garden phlox prunning

13 years ago

I don't know if I have posted this message before or not or I had intentions of doing it. I tried to locate such but did not find it. Back in Oct. a church friend gave me two tall garden phlox..I transplanted them as she gave them to me. Should I have cut the stalks all the way to the ground after I transplanted them? Each day as I look out the window, I see these woody stems/stalks looking back at me. Would it hurt to prune them back to the ground and make sure they are covered in dried leaves? Or just leave them as is?

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Comment (1)

simcan
13 years ago
I like the look of dead plants and evergreens in the winter, but if you don't you can certainly cut them back whenever you like and you will not hurt the plant one bit. They are tough plants and completely hardy so cover them or not, it is up to you but likely not necessary. I assume they were still green when you planted them? If they made it through the transplant cutting back the stalks now won't impact either way.

You did not need to cut them back at planting though doing so by half is what some folks do to minimize transpiration and the plant mass that the reduced root system must support...but I doubt anyone would tell you you SHOULD have done so.
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