half when 8 in. tall or it can be pinched. I know several gardeners who prefer
pinching ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum because they claim that cut-back plants look too
rough, or the stalks are tough and callused and thus break off easily. I have
favored the results I have gotten from pinching, rather than cutting back, with
perennials like Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum ×superbum) and ‘Gateway’ Joe Pye
weed (Eutrochium maculatum ‘Gateway’). Species of Symphyotrichum and
Artemisia, as well as Boltonia asteroides ‘Snowbank’, are just a few other plants
that can be either pinched or cut back, again depending on the intended result
(and, again, refer to the encyclopedia for specifics).
I feel obliged when writing about pinching to cover mums in greater detail.
Despite the fact that advice on pinching has been covered in every article ever
written on mums, in every introductory horticulture or master gardener class,
(clockwise from top left) Sedum
‘Autumn Joy’ pinched; ‘Autumn
Joy’ sedum pinched and used as
a low hedge is outstanding even
without flowers at Boerner
Botanical Gardens in Wisconsin;
even more dramatic is the show
that pinched ‘Autumn Joy’
sedum plants provide in flower
at Boerner Botanical Gardens.PinchinG, disBuddinG, thinninG, and deadleafinG 123