After a season of enjoying the blooms from your perennial flower garden, late fall is a time in cold-winter regions (USDA Climate Hardiness Zones 8 and colder) to prepare the beds for winter.
Taking good care of beds in fall will help them thrive next spring and summer. Gardeners is warm winter areas where frost and snow are rare need only to keep the beds cleaned up and replace diseased or worn out plants as needed. But for everyone else, follow these tips.
Water less. Plants need to naturally get ready for winter by hardening off (becoming accustomed to colder temperatures). You can help by cutting back on the amount of water you give them, but don't let them completely dry out.
But water more. In dry-winter areas that don't freeze or have much snow, water perennials once a month on a sunny, warm day to keep them alive and healthy.
Dig them. After the first frost has killed back the foliage, dig and store tender perennial bulbs such as dahlias and gladiolus that can't survive the winter in the ground in a cold climate.
Cut them back. On perennials that have finished for the season, cut back stems to 6 to 8 inches from the ground. Compost the foliage as long as it's not diseased.
Feed them. Fall is a good time to feed perennials by working in a 4- to 6-inch-thick layer of compost around the beds.
Mulch them. After the ground freezes, remove old mulch and replace it with hay, evergreen boughs, or floating row covers. This extra layer protects tender perennials and helps catch and hold snow, which will also insulate the bed.
Tools
- Pruners
- Loppers
- Rake
- Shovel
- Compost
- Mulch
Tips
In cold-winter areas, stop fertilizing perennials by midsummer to encourage them to slow their growth and harden off for winter.
In warm-winter areas, fall is a good time to plant perennials. However, in winter check for signs of disease, especially during wet periods, since the plants are growing slowly and conditions are right for rotting to occur.
. Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be submitted to our "