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Can you give Aconicum a Chelsea chop?

7 years ago

My aconicum grew to about 9 feet tall this year - right up into the branches of the redbud tree it is planted under. The clump is about three years old now and previously only reached about 6 feet. I read some sources that said aconicum should not be chopped, but I have also noted that some folks on this forum do it. What can you tell me about your experience with aconicum and Chelsea chop?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Junco

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Comments (15)

junco1102
Original Author
7 years ago
Aconitum!! Sorry about the spelling error - isn't auto correct wonderful!
mnwsgal
7 years ago
Mine doesn't grow that tall so I don't prune it. One year deer pruned it back by half. It bloomed a bit later than usual but still had a full bloom.
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You can chop all those, Bluebird. Essentially, any tall, late flowering dicot (it does not work with monocots) since the flowering buds will respond to the chop as if munched by a passing herbivore or careless strimmer - it is sometimes called pinching back and, in chrysanthemum culture, 'stopping'. Yes, the flower buds will definitely initiate....the key to doing any chopping back is to do it before seeds have set. Once that happens, the plant considers it's job done and will quickly fade away to conserve energy for future root growth. Although we so it in our short, cool summers, the longer, hotter summers of the US are an even better bet. Bear in mind that the resulting flowers will be smaller (but often appear much more floriferous) and the flowering will be a couple of weeks later than usual. Yes, Bluebird and Ken, you can do this piecemeal - shaping the plant so that some stems are left on while others are cut to varying shorter heights. This will actually lengthen the bloom time as flowers will be opening in stages. You can be fairly brutal and cut the plants back by as much as half (especially phlox and asters) but a third is usually the amount removed. As always, when pruning (which is all this is) bump up the water and even a top dressing of balanced fertiliser (but maybe a tad heavier on the potassium ratio). I have been out with my shears chopping back the asters and achillea, along with some eryngoes which tend to flop over.
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User
7 years ago
yes
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
7 years ago
Yes:

CChop Monks Hood
sunnyborders
7 years ago
Junco, you may have Aconitum 'Spark's Variety', the tallest garden Aconitum I've grown myself or have read of. In our own garden, without staking, it would mostly trail. Our several reach up about 7 feet.

As above. I personally cut all monkshoods (summer and fall) down to ground level after flowering.

Sure you know, Junco, about gloves, etc. when dealing with monkshood.

Interesting about the deer, Mnwsgirl: parts of the plants are more potentially lethal than others and not all monkshoods are apparently equally toxic. We lost Arend's (fall) monkshood at a cottage (only went there periodically). I hadn't put it down to possibly the deer.
rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
7 years ago
I would have thought that it would have been deadly to all mammals.
sunnyborders
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Me too, Rouge.

Not much of a defence for the plant if deer can eat it with impunity!

Have read of deer in Connecticut eating Aconitum buds (cultivar unspecified) with no ill effect. Strongly suspect that they wouldn't be able to do the same eating the seed pods or roots (viz. aconitine concentrations).
davidrt28 (zone 7)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I wonder about this too...very poisonous plants and deer or rabbits. It is a known fact that some deer in the northeast US for example, are fully resistant to the poison in Kalmia and related rhododendrons. OTOH, most plant poisons do not act immediately (in spite of what you see in the movies or TV...I remember a particularly hilarious scene in Midsomer Murders involving Aconitums) and of course, if the animal does die, it's probably going to die off the woods somewhere and most people will never see it again. My aconitum was apparently browsed once, but only once, since I planted it in spring 2015. Believe me if a couple deer or rabbits ended up dead from that, I won't be losing any sleep over it. Maybe the reason it only happened once is that they learned their lesson.
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years ago
Whether you want to may depend on when the plant blooms and how far north or what zone one is. One of mine blooms late enough that I would be worried that by cutting it back, a freeze would arrive before the blooms had a chance to open.
mnwsgal
7 years ago
I agree with Babs. The deer pruned one is a late bloomer and I worried it would freeze before blooming. Fortunately we had a late frost that year. Only one year did frost kill the buds but that is always a concern.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
why is it called a chelsea chop?

ken
davidrt28 (zone 7)
7 years ago
I'm guessing either something to do with the Chelsea flower show, or something to do with mod hairstyles!
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
7 years ago
Chelsea chop.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
sounds like cutting back.. to delay flowering.. for a specific time.. like the show ...

but they say to do it at show time ... sounds to me.. like it should be done a few weeks earlier ....

so which is it ...

reminds a lot of pinching back mums.. for bushiness and fall flowering

ken
junco1102
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you for your knowledge and suggestions. I will give it a try next season and report back.

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