Last June, I started my “Prune in June” series covering perennials I cut or pinched back in June to control the ultimate height and/or look of said perennials. June has come and gone already, but I logged my cutting back of these same perennials to once again closely analyze the results.

Today, we are talking Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ but my guess is this same approach can be applied to other upright Sedum cultivars.

As a recap, here is what a pinched plant looked like by late Summer:

And a photo of an unpinched one:

A pinched plant in October:

And again, an un-pinched plant at that same time:

As you can see, the pinched plant bloomed later (by about 1 – 2 weeks) and provided extended color deeper into the Fall. That works for me.

The number of blooms on each stem was also greater on the pinched back plant which gave the Sedum a “fuller” look. Again, a win.

So for 2013, I pinched back each and every bud on each and every Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ plant. Here is how they looked pre-pinching:

And how they now look post-pinching:

As I did last year, I’ll be tracking the results throughout the Summer/Fall. This is life changing info we all need and I am here to provide just that for you.

You are most welcome.

John