The Montbretie is an easy-care, partially hardy garden beauty that enriches every perennial bed with its exotic-looking flowers. In addition to the right location, pruning is important so that the plant produces many flowers every year and remains he althy.
When and how should you prune Montbretien?
Montbretias should be cut back after flowering by removing spent flower umbels from the clumps. Use sharp, clean cutting tools to prevent the spread of disease. The leaves should be left standing in winter as a natural protection against the cold.
After flowering
Once the arched overhanging flower umbels have bloomed, they are cut out of the clumps. For this care measure, always use very sharp and clean cutting tools (€14.00 on Amazon) so that no pathogens can penetrate the tuber through the small injury.
If you want to get seeds, the flower stalks are only separated when they are fully ripe. Unfortunately, for the cultivars that bloom into October in our latitudes, there is often not enough time until the onset of winter to harvest germinable seeds. With the early-flowering varieties, however, breeding from home-grown seeds is definitely worthwhile.
Leave leaves standing
Do not remove the foliage of the Montbretia during the summer months. It supplies the small tubers with important nutrients for the coming growth period.
When should the leaves be cut back?
In mild regions, the Montbretie can overwinter in the bed. In this case, the yellowed leaves serve as natural protection against the cold and should not be cut back. Spread the winter protection
- Scroll
- Compost
- Bark mulch
a few centimeters thick over the foliage of the Montbretie and secure it with a few branches of sticks.
Montbretias that overwinter indoors must be cut back. In this case, shorten the foliage to about ten centimeters and carefully dig up the stolons. Leave as much soil as possible on the nodules and store them in a small box in a dark and cool place.
Tip
Montbretien keep very well in the vase. However, only cut the flower stalks when the lower flowers have already opened.
