Sometimes it’s best to wait until spring to clean up your garden but, not always. Fall cleanup benefits, in cold climates, leaving foliage standing through winter can protect their crowns. But some perennials really should be cleaned up in the fall.
Preventing disease: Some plants harbor pests and disease in their foliage over winter. Cut back peonies, to keep fungal diseases, such as peony leaf blotch, from spreading. Gather a handful of stems and cut them off two to three inches above the soil. Never compost suspicious-looking or infected leaves, stems, or flowers. That could spread the problem. Send them away in the trash instead. These are the perennials to clean up in the fall: Bearded Iris, Bee Balm, Blackberry Lily, Garden Phlox, and Peonies.
Control reseeding: You can leave plants with seed heads standing for winter interest or feed the birds. But if you don’t want plants like purple coneflowers to reseed and take over the area, cut them back in fall. Snip spent flowers back just below the mound of foliage for a tidy look.
Cut back these to control reseeding: Black-eyed Susans, Blanket Flower, Purple Coneflower, Globe Thistle, Jupiter’s Beard, Solomon”s Seal, and Turtlehead.
Information obtained from “The Garden Gate”. It is time to have a happy fall.
