Cutting fat hen: instructions in 5 steps

If most of the flowers have already drawn in their blooms, take care of them fat chicken in white, yellow, red or pink for color accents in the garden. The undemanding perennial loves the late summer sun and flatters the bed more than the name suggests. Stonecrop sounds a lot better there. Either way, the hardy Sedum delights its gardener anew every year. Provided that he knows the right technique to cut the sedum plant. In a sunny location, the thick-fleshed leaves, from which the plant owes its name, will stay healthy for a long time with these pruning instructions.

Cut fat hen

One advantage of the fat hen is that it is still in full bloom late in the year. In autumn, it would hardly occur to a gardener to cut the stems. But it is not only for visual reasons that it is important not to attack Sedum in autumn. Bald seed heads and withered flowers serve as frost protection for the plant. In the spring, on the other hand, the stems are dried out. Now is the best time to trim the fat hen and get it in shape. Since the perennial needs time after winter to get used to the temperature change, the exact date depends on the type of overwintering or the general cultivation:

• Indoor plants: in March
• Bedding plants overwintered in the house: in April shortly before the winter quarters are closed (around the end of February)
• Bedding plants: before budding (late March to early May)

Note: When the fat hen drives out, depends primarily on the climatic conditions. Therefore, it is not possible to set a blanket date. The right date varies by region and even then can vary from year to year.

Prepare the tool

While the gardener can easily remove individual withered leaves by hand, he should use tools to work on the thick-fleshed stems. Important utensils are:

• Scissors or knives
• Kitchen towels
• Disinfectants
• gloves

While the gloves will of course protect the gardener, measures are also required to protect the sedum plant from disease. Parasites and fungi are usually transmitted via tools that are already infected. It is therefore important to thoroughly disinfect knives and scissors with high-percentage alcohol before cutting. Equally, sharpening the knife not only reduces the amount of effort required by the gardener. Blunt cutting tools leave frayed stems that are slow to heal.
Experience has shown that a lot of sap escapes from the thick-fleshed leaves. The gardener can stop this with a kitchen towel. Warning, the juice contains lightly poisonous substances, hence the protective gloves.

Note: Of course, disinfecting the cutting tools is not only necessary when cutting the fat hen. It is possible that it is precisely the perennial that is already suffering from an unrecognized fungus and that is transferring its spores to other plants. The gardener should clean his utensils after pruning any plant.

Cutting fat hen: instructions

• Remove dead flowers and seed heads
• Shaping by shortening shoots that have grown too long
• Position scissors just above a leaf or a bud
• Cover very juicy interfaces with a fleece

Note: If the gardener leaves the fat hen untouched for too long, long, thin shoots will form. The perennial falls apart and creates a dreary look. House plants that have spent the winter on the windowsill suffer from this phenomenon in particular. Therefore, regular thinning is recommended. Lack of light can also lead to thin shoots. The sedum plant usually recovers after a change of location.

Cut to what length?

Basically, the gardener cuts the fat hen to one to two thirds. On the other hand, it removes bare or lignified shoots just above the ground. In this way, it stimulates rejuvenation and new growth.

large fat hens

Depending on the variety, the sedum plant has different heights. Some species even grow up to half a meter high. Unfortunately, this has the disadvantage that they quickly become lignified or threaten to shed. Separate cutting instructions therefore apply to large, fat hens:

• Remove lignified shoots
• Place scissors at the base
• work from the bottom up
• last, cut off thin shoots just above the ground

Note: The pruning of the fat hen is not absolutely necessary, but promotes new growth. To ensure that the part of the perennial close to the ground also receives sufficient light, thinning is necessary on a regular basis. To do this, it is already enough to remove withered leaves.

Root cut

In view of the expansive growth, the gardener can imagine that the fat hen develops an equally extensive root system. Houseplants This means that they quickly feel cramped in the bucket and require a larger pot. But bedding plants also enjoy fresh, nutrient-rich substrate. The stonecrop is very undemanding and does not need any fertilizer. In the course of a substrate change, however, the gardener should completely replace the soil. Since this work requires the exposure of the root ball, it is advisable to carry out a root cut straight away. Just like shortening the above-ground shoots, this one also stimulates new growth. The gardener shortens the root shoots by a few centimeters while completely removing diseased or damaged root strands. Then he places the sedum plant in fresh succulent soil, which he has enriched with lava granules beforehand. Fette Henne will recover well with soft irrigation water and a pH value of 6.5 to 7.3.

Vase cut

Sedum also attracts everyone's attention as a cut flower in the vase. So that it does not stop growing due to the removal of important, energy-sending stems, the correct technique must also be observed here:

• Time: shortly after the blossoms open in autumn
• Cut one to three fingers across the ground
• leave at least one eye on the shoot (otherwise no new shoot)

tip: If you don't feel like cutting the stonecrop regularly, just choose a creeping type. In this form, the undemanding perennial hardly does any work.