Cut gypsophila: Winter-hardy plants then bloom longer

Created: 06/23/2022Updated: 06/23/2022, 16:15

By: Ines Alms

The decorative gypsophila is an enrichment for every garden.

If you cut back the perennial after the first flowering, you will extend its flowering period.

Munich – Greetings from Monet – the gypsophila gives every garden a romantic touch with its white or pink sea of ​​blossoms.

The perennial is also very easy to care for and if you cut it back after the first flower, you can soon look forward to a second one, which will last longer.

Cut gypsophila: Winter-hardy plants then bloom longer

Gypsophila (Gypsophila paniculata) rewards pruning with a second bloom.

(Iconic image) © Panthermedia/Imago

Gypsophila (Gypsophila paniculata) is quite undemanding and, unlike many other garden plants, does not even need a lot of nutrients to bloom lushly from May to autumn.

But sooner or later the flowering power of even the most enduring plant dwindles.

Gypsophila is a very decorative addition to a bouquet - it is even suitable for a bouquet of dried flowers - and in fact it takes a trim very well.

So good that it rewards a pruning of the first faded inflorescences up to the upper stem leaves with a second bloom in late summer.

Only in autumn is the perennial cut back to a hand's breadth above the ground.

The pruning has another advantage: possible pathogens, brown leaf spots or pests such as aphids are disposed of at the same time and, with a little luck, do not reappear at first.

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For a beautiful bloom: Gypsophila must not be fertilized

By meeting the plant’s soil and bed care requirements, the gypsophila stays healthy and blooms happily:

• Do not enrich the soil with compost or other fertilizers, as the plant likes a nutrient-poor, well-drained and sandy soil.

  This can be found, for example, in the rock garden.

  Fertilize at most once in spring.

• Do not water too much, gypsophila likes it dry.

  Usually the rain is enough.

• The gypsophila needs space: Since it grows both tall and wide, it is best to leave a generous distance to the next plants.

Since the gypsophila is very robust, it survives - at least as a hardy perennial - even longer periods of cold weather if you offer it appropriate winter protection from leaves or brushwood.