Whether you choose to do it in the spring or the fall, cutting back perennials keeps your garden tidy and healthy.
Most gardeners who want a well-tended garden cut back the dead foliage of their perennials. Of course, if you don’t care about appearances, you can let the foliage just lay where it falls for a more wild look, but in some cases, that can invite pests and diseases. On the other hand, it can also provide a haven for beneficial insects as well. It’s your choice.
When To Cut Back
In my garden, I tend to do cut back throughout the fall and spring. I cut back some perennials in the fall, after frost has felled them, especially those that look like heck by then, such as peonies, daylilies, hostas, and irises. However, I leave those perennials that I know are relatively attractive throughout the winter, such as ornamental grasses, sedums, and purple coneflower (the goldfinches love them!) In early spring, March or so, I then do another round of cleanup of the perennials that are the most offensive to my order-seeking eye, but leave up the others since beneficial insects are likely hiding there, waiting for warmer weather. However, by late April, early May at the latest, I’ve cleaned up everything.
How to Cut Back
- To cut back a perennial, simply cut it off an inch or two above ground level with a pair of hand-held garden shears.
- For larger gardens, consider using power tools. I like to use an electric hedge trimmer, which costs around $60. It’s excellent for tall, thick, or stiff stands of perennials, like ornamental grasses. It’s not good on, say, daylilies and irises, which have softer leaves that the power tool doesn’t cut very cleanly unless they’re more dry and brittle.
- Dispose of the cuttings along with your other yard waste. As long as they are not diseased, they’re great for a compost heap. I also put them in the yard waste dumpster that my garbage service provides. And I also pile them into a soft-sided dumpster bin that I put in the back of my SUV and take to our community’s free yard waste days.
Other Links Of Interest:
20 Must-have Perennials For Iowa
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