Yep. Give it a haircut.

cut out any fertilizer as well - too much nitrogen can cause flopping.

Thank you both for your advice.
One of two massings is now cut back.
So, now the question is.... do I fertilize to get it to fill in again more quickly (only maybe a couple of months left of the season around here), or not fertilize to avoid flopping??

I would not fertilize this late in the season in zone 4 - they will fill out naturally anyway. You'll be surprised at how quickly they do (unless it snows in Vermont in August!)

PP (zone 4 Minnesota, where it doesn't snow in August!)

Thank you Princess.
And No, as a rule it doesn't usually snow here in August :)
but your joke got me wondering. And believe it or not, on Aug. 30, 1982 some parts of Vermont got 3" of snow! Or how about on August 29, 1965, when it reached 25o ? Yikes!
(I actually think Silvermound would look quite pretty in snow...)

One more question while we are on the subject, if you don't mind. What do you do with it in the Fall? Cut back hard or do nothing and cut back in Spring?
Thanks again
Sam

I planted several 'mounds' they are already splitting. If I dont divide will they be ok next spring? I hate to lose them, they werent cheap and they are so pretty. Thanks.

Sam: you can cut back either time - whichever is convenient for you - if you are doing it in fall, wait til they've taken a couple of hard freezes.

oh my, I was just joking about the snow, since we live in a similar climate, but that is truly depressing! Lets hope for a wonderful end of summer and autumn season to come, with no snow til about Thanksgiving or a tad later!

and mdhbmv - are your Silver Mound newly planted, or older, established clumps? if they are new, there should be no need to split them, just by-pass them when you fertilize your garden next spring. If really old and large, you could divide them.

PP

Thanks for the reply. I planted them in the Spring, last year I planted two in planters and they seemed to have completely died, so I just dug them out this Spring. (did I mess up?) Anyway, I guess I will just leave them alone, I just hope they return. Is it normal for them to look as though they almost melt away when dormant? Thank you for your advice!

putting them in planters, above ground in lovely Iowa may have been their demise. Too cold over the winter for that, my gardening friend. If they were alive, they would have grown this spring. If you have not seen any signs of life this year, they are long dead. Time to go buy a couple more plants. When you put woody plants or perennials in above ground containers over the winter in our harsh climate, you can just about treat them as annuals. You should be able to find Silver Mound relatively inexpensive, even in the spring in small 3 1/2" pots or so - they grow so fast in the ground you don't need to invest in a really large pot.

Next time, fill those planters up with cool annuals, and leave the perennials for the garden beds. And yes, it is normal for them to look as though they melt away when dormant, I'm afraid yours might be dead.

PP

thanks, the several i planted this year are in a bed. i will count on them coming back up.