The majority of people believe that running in late winter or early spring is such an annoying chore, and honestly, we can’t blame them. That’s probably why we decided to come up with a suggestion, so to speak.
Cutting back some of your perennials in fall can definitely come with major benefits for both the plant and your garden. Moreover, as it turns out, you can, and even should, prune the wide majority of your plants right now.
To be more specific, we’re talking about perennials. If they don’t pose any interest for you during winter, such as daylilies, hosta, or lavender, then it’s a wonderful idea to clean them up. You can cut back anything that could split due to snow load, too, like peonies or grasses.
Now, we want to enlist all the reasons as to why we think cutting back some perennials in the fall is the way to go about it:
The plants are prone to disease
Some plants out there are especially vulnerable to powdery mildew and any other type of disease, which can easily run rampant as the plants go dormant or the weather turns damp and cool. Cutting the given examples back will ensure them a stronger, disease-free growth that will skyrocket the following season.
Just think about what your plant deals with throughout the season. If you have a plant, any plant that’s slightly prone to pests or even diseases, you should cut that back in the fall so it doesn’t overwinter.
The flowers self-seed and spread easily
Self-seeding plants are a wonderful way to fill in the landscape, especially if you want more flowers. However, if you don’t want the plants to spread beyond where you currently have them, you might need to prune the flowers before they seed.
We also have a tip to share: if you want your garden to be wildlife-friendly, consider leaving the blooms there to drop those seeds. Those seeds can help feed birds and other types of animals during the cold winter months.
The foliage that’s left looks quite unattractive
Evergreens look quite impressive throughout the year, but even plants that wither or even dry during the winter can add some interest to your landscape. Ornamental grasses, for example, can dry into a straw-like shade and can also add a beautiful texture to your landscape.
Moreover, hydrangea blooms can stay attractive for a prolonged period of time, long into the winter. However, other plants can also blacken, turn a bit soggy, or simply make your garden look more like a horror show than a much-desired winter wonderland.
You want to have fewer gardening chores in the spring
For some plants out there, it’s not super important whether you prune them in spring or fall. However, you might want a cleaner look for your landscape over the winter, so you start the spring with a blank canvas.
How to prune fall perennials
The wide majority of the rules involving fall pruning are quite similar to what you would need to do if you want to prune in late winter or even early spring. You need to keep your cuts clean, lop off any dead or diseased parts of the plant, and avoid cutting off what your plant needs to in order to thrive next year. You should remove all dead foliage. Especially if you had a frost, as this will reveal what needs to be taken down.
You can use clean pruning shears or bypass pruners
If you want to prevent spreading any diseases that could be lurking in your plants from one part of the garden to another, you might need to clean your pruners between plants. You can wipe them down by simply rubbing some alcohol to help kill off any germs before you tackle the next plant.
You can decide how far to cut back your perennials
For some perennials out there, like the self-seeding varieties, you might only want to clip down the flowers themselves. However, for plants that you are cutting back to prevent disease or even avoid unattractive foliage, you could wish to cut a bit deeper.
No matter how far you cut back on those perennials, you could still want to leave a couple of inches of plant above the soil. This could help preserve the crown of the plant and make sure the roots aren’t disturbed.
Another benefit of it is that you will be finally able to see where your existing plants are when you’re going through that spring planting, so you don’t accidentally disturb your favorite perennials.
Time to prune the right way
Pruning perennials can be easily done throughout fall, especially as you do your fall cleanup. Giving those hard haircuts to the perennials can signal to the plant not to try to exert too much effort before the freezes come.
You can leave your trees and shrubs to prune when they’re fully dormant. This will help prevent the plant from pushing out new growth before they have to go to sleep. Earlier running could encourage your shrub to start some tender new growth that could later become damaged and die back over the winter.
Perennials you should prune in the fall
Peonies
Peonies are prone to diseases, that’s why a fall prune can definitely help keep those at bay for the upcoming year. The plants can also decay after a frost, so you could end up with an unattractive and disease-attracting mess, especially if you leave the plant unpruned.
You can simply cut peonies back very close to ground level, and way for the next year’s growth that can come straight from the roots, not last year’s branches.
Coneflowers
Coneflowers can easily stay in your garden throughout the winter, as the flowers go to seed and provide food for overwintering birds. However, if you want to control the growth of your coneflowers, you can simply remove some or all of the flowers right after they’ve bloomed.
Moreover, if you want a cleaner garden, you can simply cut back the plant’s stalks to the ground for fresh growth next spring.
Hostas
Hosta leaves wilt and generally become quite unattractive during wintertime. They can also provide a wonderful shelter for unwanted visitors, like rodents and slugs. Even worse than that, the slugs can emerge in the spring to feast on the fresh leaves, damaging the plant.
In this case, you will want to cut back the foliage to only a few inches off of the ground, as soon as the first hard frost hits and the leaves look dead.
Phlox
Phlox is also one of those plants that are particularly prone to powdery mildew, that’s why fall pruning can easily help reduce the chances that your plants actually develop it. After the first hard frost, you can simply prune the plant closer to the ground, leaving only a few inches of the plant so you can find it in the spring.
Daylilies
Daylilies leave these unattractive stalks right after their bloom season is over. That’s why it’s best to pull those in the fall for a much cleaner garden.
If you found this article useful, we also recommend checking: 6 Easy Houseplant Care Tips ALL Pros Recommend
