November is almost here, and it’s time to get your perennial flower garden ready for winter. Do you cut it down or don’t you?
The traditional approach to preparing herbaceous perennial beds for winter is to remove all of this year’s dead plant material from the garden. The idea is that removing all dead material now in the fall removes any diseased plant parts. It also provides a clean slate for new growth in the spring. Tender new growth will less likely be damaged than if you try to remove last year’s growth when the plants are actively growing in the spring.
Other gardeners leave all of their plant growth untouched in the fall. The dried plant stems and leaves provide valuable cover for over-wintering beneficial insects. Plus, many perennial stalks will be supporting seed heads providing additional food for birds.
Leaving the garden alone in the fall has other benefits. All of that plant debris tends to trap and hold snow in place, providing a natural insulating blanket which reduces the chance of freeze damage from harsh, winter temperatures. Snow can also prevent plants from frost heaving by reducing the number of freeze-thaw cycles in the soil as the ambient air temperatures swing from cold to warm and back again through the winter.
Upright flower stalks, dried leaves, seed heads and old flowers also provide visual interest especially when newly fallen snow collects and is held up by the plant material. Stems over 3 feet tall or so will eventually fall over but even those broken, angular stems catch the eye when covered with snow.
Tall ornamental grasses sway back and forth in the winter breezes providing an animated visual element to the winter landscape as well as providing an additional source of seeds for birds.
Gardeners who do fall clearing feel that by the time they start clearing their gardens, the birds have already eaten virtually all of the seeds. Their small plot of flowers might not provide much usable cover or food for birds either, especially if other cover is nearby. Besides, who wants to look at a messy garden area all winter anyway? Plus, clearing out the garden bed now saves valuable time next year. Spring is busy enough without having to do all the work that could have been done last fall — which is a reasonable point of view.
If you do decide to clear out plant material now, wait for a few hard frosts before removing stems allowing roots to continue to draw energy from them. Don’t cut stems right down to the ground, leave at least a few inches of stalk. Leaving them even longer, 18 inches or so will provide enough room for overwintering insects.
Or consider gathering together and propping up your cut stems in a dry, out of the way spot in your lawn. That gives any insects that happen to be in there a snug spot to spend the winter so they will be able to pollinate and patrol your garden next year.
Contact Bob Dluzen at bdulzen@detroitnews.com.
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