Key Points
Leaving spent flowers up through winter can provide seeds for native birds.Certain plants like Joe-Pye weed also have seed pods that act as nesting materials for birds.Many fall and winter flowering perennials can be deadheaded in spring, allowing birds to use their resources.
Some flowering plants are best left alone for the birds, even in late fall when your garden goes into hibernation. By not deadheading spent perennial flowers, you can leave them up to produce seeds that wild birds love to eat through winter or provide shelter and natural nesting materials.
Here, a garden expert and a bird expert share what common perennial plants to leave up in fall and why they’re good for our avian friends.
Meet the Expert
Lucie Bradley is a gardening and greenhouse expert at Easy Garden Irrigation.
Mary Mack Gray is an ornithologist and ecologist at Bird Buddy, the smart bird feeder.
Aster
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Aji Ilham Pratama / Getty Images
Asters are a vital food source for migrating pollinators when other sources of pollen are low, says Lucie Bradley, a gardening and greenhouse expert at Easy Garden Irrigation.
“You will find cardinals and chickadees, nuthatches and sparrows happy to feed on the seeds produced as the aster flowers fade,” Bradley says.
And if you wait until early spring to cut back their spent flowers, you can provide a valuable place of shelter and food for small birds during the colder months.
In addition, the plant also provides habitat for overwintering insects, another food source for wild birds.
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Viburnum
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Elizabeth Fernandez / Getty Images
Many native viburnums also have lush, dense foliage perfect for providing shelter and places to nest for the wild birds visiting your garden. Usually used as hedges or low-maintenance ornamental shrubs in a garden, these plants also produce berries from late summer through into winter.
Viburnum berries are a favorite for cedar waxwings, pine grosbeaks, and bluebirds, among others, says ornithologist and ecologist Mary Mack Gray.
Joe-Pye Weed
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bgwalker / Getty Images
Joe-Pye weed attracts bees, birds, and butterflies alike, says Gray. If you wait until the following spring to cut back this plant, then birds like the American Goldfinch and Purple Finch, seed-loving finches, will have plenty of food through winter. Plus, the dead stems will provide shelter for overwintering insects, a great food source for wild birds.
“In addition, the fluffy ‘hair’ or pappus of the seed heads is collected by birds as nesting material,” Bradley says.
Black-Eyed Susan
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DEA / C.DELU / Getty Images
These classic, daisy-like flowers are a low maintenance perennial that will flower from late summer through to late fall.
Though you might be tempted to cut back black-eyed susans once they have finished blooming, you can also wait until spring to prune, says Bradley. This is when their seed-filled flower heads will attract a wide range of bird species to your garden to feed including cardinals, chickadees, goldfinches, juncos, and nuthatches.
“In addition, the insects that will overwinter in the dense foliage will also serve as a food source whilst this same foliage can provide cover to small birds,” Bradley says.
Coneflower
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Nancybelle Gonzaga Villarroya/Getty
Coneflowers are long-lasting perennial flowers that attract a wide range of pollinators including bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Once the flowers have faded you could deadhead them.
However, leaving the spent blooms until spring allows seeds to ripen as the flowers fade and these become a valuable source of food throughout the fall and winter, says Bradley. During the colder months, these cone shaped seedheads are popular with blackbirds, cardinals, goldfinches, jays, and sparrows.
Dogwood
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Orest Lyzhechka / Getty Images
There are several dogwood shrubs and trees whose fruit are a great food source for wild birds through winter, says Bradley. Cornus Florida, commonly called the ‘flowering dogwood,’ is one of the most popular trees in the US.
“Although we love the spring blooms of this native tree, its bright red berries are attractive to a wide range of wild birds and are a great food source being high in both fat and calcium,” she says.
Songbirds such as pine warblers, hermit thrushes, American robins, and eastern bluebirds will all enjoy dining on this plant in winter.
Goldenrod
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Getty Images / Beata Whitehead
A perennial herb known for its bright yellow flowers from late summer into fall, goldenrod helps support important pollinators like bees and butterflies. By not cutting back goldenrod in the fall, the plant provides food and shelter for wild birds, says Bradley.
Gray agrees: “Dead stalks provide essential shelter and food to insects and pollinators during winter, and this, in turn, ensures a rich food supply for nesting birds come spring.”
By leaving the spent flowers rather than deadheading, the blooms will form capsules packed with seeds which are easily cracked open by the bills of goldfinches and sparrows, Bradley adds.
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