Pruning Purple Coneflower

Purple coneflower does not require traditional pruning in the way shrubs do, but a single annual tidy-up in March keeps plants vigorous and tidy. Use secateurs or garden shears to cut back all the previous year's dead stems to ground level, just as new basal foliage begins to emerge. This removes winter debris, reduces the risk of fungal disease overwintering on old material, and makes way for fresh growth. If you have left the seed heads standing over winter to feed birds—a common and worthwhile practice—March is the time to clear them away. During the flowering season, which runs from summer into autumn, deadheading is optional and depends on your priorities. Removing spent blooms as they fade encourages a few more flushes of flower and keeps the plant looking neat, but many gardeners leave at least some seed heads in place from late summer onward. The distinctive spiky cones are attractive to goldfinches and provide valuable winter interest in the border, and self-sown seedlings may appear the following spring, though they will not always come true to the parent's colour. If your clump becomes congested or flowering declines after three or four years, lift and divide it in early spring rather than pruning. Dig up the whole plant, tease or cut the crown into sections with a sharp spade, and replant healthy portions with plenty of roots. Discard any woody, unproductive centres. This rejuvenates the plant and gives you extras to spread around the garden.