With an average height of 10 to 15 cm, the blue cushion is considered small in stature. It doesn't take much care, but you shouldn't do without cutting
How and when should you cut the blue cushion?
The blue cushion should be cut after the first flowering at the end of May to stimulate a second flowering and prevent self-seeding. Cut back in September to prepare the plant for winter while avoiding senescence and baldness. Cut cuttings for propagation in late summer.
Stimulate a second bloom
When the first flowering is over, the old flowers are cut away. You can use standard secateurs for this (€14.00 on Amazon). The idea behind this is to stimulate a second flowering of the year. This cut is usually appropriate towards the end of May.
Prevent self-seeding
Pruning can also be done to prevent the fruits and their seeds from forming. Check regularly whether flowers have wilted and whether fruits have already formed. Get rid of it if you want to avoid self-sowing the plant.
Cut back before the onset of winter
If you didn't cut off the flowers in May, you should still prune them over the course of the summer and by September at the latest. This prepares the blue cushion for the approaching winter. Feel free to cut the shoots back by half!
Avoid aging of the plant
The blue cushion grows easily without pruning. But in order to be able to green and visually enhance rock gardens, dry stone walls etc. for a long time, the cushion-forming and ground-covering blue cushion should be regularly cut back and thinned out:
- cut away old shoots at the base
- remove crossing shoots
- take away dead and diseased plant parts as quickly as possible
- Goal: Avoid baldness from within
- Result: bushy, compact growth
Get cuttings for propagation
In addition, pruning may become necessary during propagation. Shoots for cuttings are easy to obtain. You should cut these off the blue cushion in late summer. To root, put them in moist potting soil and don't plant them out until next spring!
Harvesting capsule fruits for sowing
Last but not least, you can cut the blue cushion to harvest its capsule fruits with the seeds. The pods are spherical to egg-shaped and ripen after flowering in summer. Cut them off before they open. Otherwise the seeds will fall out quickly.
Tip
The second bloom will be more lush if you fertilize and water the plant immediately after cutting.
