I have mixed luck with coral bells in my shadier beds, but that's an idea that hadn't crossed my mind--probably because I haven't fully accepted that my "sunny" bed is still part shade! Overall, I am just so confused with the parts of my garden that aren't obviously shady all day. I'm growing shade and part-shade plants in sites that remain dappled through the summer, but I'm finding the sunnier sites much more difficult to plan for. I have been eyeing a part of the lawn that I thought was sunnier, but it seems to be sunny only till early afternoon. I thought that part-shade plants wouldn't do well there, but am rethinking my planting strategy based on the mixed results of the bed I describe above. Right now the sunniest site seems to lie on the north side of my house--something I didn't expect, though if I think about it, my 'north garden" gets what to my neighbor is southern light.

Joanne, Patience. Give your plant good growing conditions and the new growth should be tighter. As the new growth comes in, gradually remove the older, leggy leaves. There really is no other way to 'help' a plant besides giving it good growing conditions. They will grow as they will. Patience! Remember that some varieties are naturally more loose than usual,especially the Russians. As we talked about before, the Russians were bred for flowers with little attention to foliage. The result is some interesting growth patterns. I have a couple of Russians that seem to be doing battle with themselves with their goofy growth patterns! Linda

it may depend on what zone you are in also.....but not totally sure on that. I stop pinching my mums by the end of June. I guess it could be later if your growing season is longer. I had one cosmo cut right back to a couple of inches tall a couple of months ago, courtesy of the ground hog, and it did come back nice and bushy....but no flowers as of yet. I haven't checked it in a few days so not sure how it is doing now. Had it only been clipped back a few inches, it may have done better. I regularly pinch back my sedums and stick the pieces in a bare spot....they grow roots and do just fine and the original plant branches and gets more stocky and bushy. I recently read that tall asters can be cut back around the outside and the shorter stems will get bushy and kind of prop up the inner taller stems. I can't see why heliopsis wouldn't be the same.

tl Outside light is much stronger than what gets inside, so even if the plants are getting bone dry and going limp outside of that window, inside doesn't get same intensity - and the sun is much higher now so amount getting thru the window is less too. I have 2 large south windows and it is interesting to see how much less sun is getting in now comparing to just couple months ago.