Last fall my ‘September Ruby’ Aster tried to take over a small village. It was brimming with blooms, but the plant grew over 5 feet tall, and I had to do some serious staking to keep it upright.
This spring it took off like a shot once again, so as a preemptive strike I trimmed it back a little bit to encourage more side shoots and hopefully keep the plant’s height more reasonable. So far, so good. Now all the stems look like this one. Instead of one shoot there are a half-dozen or more!
‘September Ruby’ grows 36 to 48 (or more!) inches tall with electric-purple flowers. It blooms in late summer and into fall and is hardy in Zones 3-8.
I also trimmed back my ‘Little Joe’ Joe Pye weed. It’s a compact Joe Pye weed cultivar that attracts bees and butterflies like crazy. That’s why I planted it next to my screen porch.
‘Little Joe’ is supposed to grow 3 to 4 feet tall, but last summer my plant hit 6 feet tall and blocked our view of the yard and flowerbeds. I’m hoping Joe’s haircut will also keep him under control this summer.
‘Little Joe’ grows 3 to 4 feet tall (or more!) and blooms in mid to late summer. The plant is a magnet for pollinators and is hardy in Zones 3-9.