Ever since I moved back to my hometown two years ago, my mom has been helping me turn my outdoor space into a beautiful garden.
And it’s no wonder I’ve gone to her for advice and help—she’s been doing her own gardening for over 40 years, and is known amongst family and friends for her beautiful, lush English-style garden.
When she came over recently, I made an off-hand comment to her about needing to cut back my hostas before it got much colder—something I had done last year, and assumed everyone did.
Thinking she’d agree, instead she scoffed—”Or you could just leave them until spring,” she said.
If I know anything about my mom, it’s that she doesn’t like to waste time on things. If a plant she tried to grow one year doesn’t do very well, she’ll get rid of it without hesitation. And she won’t waste her time on garden tasks that won’t be worth the effort.
So I wondered, what other plants doesn’t she cut back in fall that everyone else does? And is she onto something?
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Hostas
As I mentioned, my mom doesn’t cut back her hostas in fall. For the most part, they continue to look pretty healthy and happy up until the first frost. And after that point, cutting them back in fall feels like a waste of time.
She’d much rather leave them be, and cut them back when spring rolls back around. This is very smart, since they’ll be easier to cut back when the old growth has withered and gone dormant.
Perennial Flowers
While she says she used to cut most of her perennial flowers back in fall, she has stopped doing that.
Perennials like coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, asters, Russian sage, and other perennials can be left alone until spring, as long as you don’t mind your garden looking a bit untidy.
“The seed heads are good for birds, and insects overwinter in the stems,” she tells me.
My mom also says some gardeners use the “chop and drop” method, where you cut back perennials but leave the seed heads and stems in the garden so that wildlife can continue to benefit.
Hardy Hibiscus
Another plant my mom leaves alone in fall is her hardy hibiscus, which some gardeners may choose to cut back in fall.
Not only can this have the same benefits as leaving other perennial flowers alone, it also has an added benefit for the plant itself.
“It’s supposed to protect it more if you leave the stems,” she says, and she prefers to tidy it up in spring instead.
Shrubs
My mum doesn’t have a ton of shrubs. But one she does have is a dogwood, and while many gardeners take to pruning their shrubs in fall, she doesn’t—and she won’t do it in spring either.
Instead, she prefers to cut back the dogwood when it starts looking too bushy and wild in the summer.
5 Other Plants You Don’t Need to Cut Back in Fall
If you’re looking to save some time in your own garden this fall, you can rest easy knowing these other common plants don’t need to be cut back either:
Hydrangeas: Some people will prune panicle hydrangeas in fall, but there’s no need to prune any type of hydrangea this season.
Clematis: Whether you have early, summer, or late flowering clematis, none of them need to be cut back in fall.
Flowering shrubs: Flowering shrubs like magnolia, forsythia, lilac, and rhododendron actually start growing next year’s buds in fall. Pruning them will risk spring’s blooms.
Lavender: Many gardeners do like to prune lavender in fall. But waiting until spring won’t hurt it, as the flowers only grow on the current year’s new stems.
Ornamental grasses: Ornamental grasses typically reserve their shape (and some of their color) through winter, so they’re great for adding winter interest and can be cut back in spring.
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