Key Points
Prune wisteria, roses, and lavender in September to control growth and encourage healthier blooms.Cut back bearded iris, daylily, and blanket flower to prevent pests and refresh plants for fall.Trim summer and fall-blooming clematis early—waiting until winter can damage the plant.
For some plants, it’s better to cut them back in September, rather than wait for October or winter. Pruning later in the season can help promote new growth in the fall or spring. Additionally, cutting back plants too late can leave some sensitive plants vulnerable to colder weather and cause harm to their health.
Here are several of the plants in your garden that you should prune in September to help your garden thrive.
Wisteria
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This hanging vine plant with a lovely scent should be cut back twice a year, especially when it comes to the Chinese and Japanese wisteria varieties. First, in winter, before it blooms in the springtime, and second, after its flowers are done in the late part of summer.
Pruning helps the wisteria keep its shape, since it grows extremely fast and is considered invasive in North America.
Wisteria is toxic to both humans and pets.
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Roses
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There’s no flower better known for pruning than the rose, but the timing needs to be right, leading to its reputation for being a somewhat finicky plant.
While most varieties need to be cut back in the spring, some roses, like the Gertrude Jekyll, Bonica, and Iceberg, will thrive the most with a fall trim.
Make sure to use bypass pruners on roses and not anvil pruners, which can crush the stems.
Lavender
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IRINA NAZAROVA / Getty Images
This fragrant perennial is best known for the purple color that shares its name and its relaxing scent. But the plant itself needs to be pruned in the spring or early fall once it’s finished blooming.
Cutting it back will help encourage the plant to grow more and let it keep its shape.
Bearded Iris
Philippe Gerber / Getty Images.
Credit:
Philippe Gerber / Getty Images
Bearded iris needs faded and dying blooms to be pinched or cut back immediately, and its tall foliage tends to flop early.
In the fall, that flopping foliage can cover pests like iris borers—caterpillars who tunnel into the plant’s rhizome—and fungal diseases, so it’s important to prune back that foliage as prevention.
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
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Deadheading and pruning aren’t required for the blanket flower, but the plant will be more aesthetically pleasing.
Though the plant likes full sun, it may wilt in the late summer heat, but a dramatic prune can bring it back to life in the fall, stimulating the blanket flower for some blooming in the cooler season.
Daylily
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The easy-to-grow perennial is drought-tolerant and can tolerate a large range of temperatures, from hot summers to freezing winters. They also respond well to a good autumnal pruning.
The daylily’s wilted blooms should be removed regularly with your hands, gently twisting them between your finger and thumb.
Then, cut back any yellowing or browning foliage in the fall, as well as remove any plant parts that may be infected or pest-ridden. Daylily is toxic to cats.
Clematis (Leather Flower)
‘Dr. Ruppel’ Clematis.
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The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Also called leather flower, the clematis plant is a climbing vine perennial with colorful blooms that blossom during different parts of the growing season.
There are many types of clematis, but generally, you should prune the summer and fall-blooming clematis in the fall, because it blooms on new growth. If you wait to cut them back in the winter, the plant will become slimy.
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