You may find this shocking but we very rarely do much for fall prep in our flower beds.
Many of you cut back everything now, some wait until a good freeze, and others will wait.
What's the correct thing to do?
Wait!!!
Why wait?
Check out these top reasons to wait on winterizing plants.
#1 Help Our Friendly Insects
So many beneficial insects need plant material to survive over winter. I won't bore you with naming all of the beneficial insects that make their homes in the leaf litter, lay their eggs on stems of plants, or burrow into the mulch to survive winter and reappear next spring. These beneficial insects wage war against those bad bugs.
#2 - Plants Need That Energy
Plants need the energy stored in those leaves.
If you cut them off too early then you stole their food. It took energy to grow those and it takes energy to put that back into the root system. It's part of a natural cycle that doesn't start for most plants until that first hard frost. This is especially true if we don't get a slow transition to our fall frost. A sudden frost when it's been very warm out can stress out our little plant friends.
#3 - You Might Kill Them
You can actually kill your plants. Stress them out or greatly weaken them so they may not come back in the spring.
Ornamental grasses can rot out over the winter. It is a big "no no" to cut those back.
Stems on ornamental grass are hollow and look like straws. They send moisture right down into the crown and cause them to be mushy dead things in the spring. No bueno.
#4 - Keep It Interesting
Don’t be flat and boring!
Herbaceous plants aka the kind that die back to the ground. They add texture and interest in the winter - This help your landscaping not look flat and boring.
Exceptions to Keep In Mind
Diseased or infected plant material.
Burn it, throw it in the dumpster but don't compost it. You're only completing the cycle of bad things.
Anything that had a bunch of spots on the leaves, white powdery films, vegetable plants. They all harbor the pest until the next season when conditions become ideal again.
Things infected with any sort of mite. Burn those little buggers or throw them in the dumpster. They're bad news.
Vegetable gardens - especially if you have a lot of tomatoes, peppers or vine crops. Those are a magnet for all sorts of bad things.
More Advice From The Queen Bee
Planting bulbs for spring - you can do this up until the ground freezes, so what are you waiting for?
Giving drinks to plants that were planted in the last few seasons. A good, deep watering will help to saturate the soil and help to insulate/regulate the soil temperatures in the winter. This is an extremely important thing to do especially if we do not have good fall rains.
Tree Guards
Maple trees and other young trees can sunscald in the winter and cause bark to fracture. Put white wrap around the trunk. Do this for anything newly planted that will have a lot of bark exposed in the winter time.
Also deer and rabbits love to scrap and feed on new trees especially fruit trees. They're very persistent and can do significant damage in just one evening.
Prevention is key. Once the bark is damaged, there's no going back.
Sanitize all equipment and anything getting used for next season. 10% bleach solution with soapy water works wonders. Don't harbor things over for next year.
Re-mulching
If your mulch is looking a little thin these days, time to replenish it before the winter.
It keeps weeds out during the growing season.
It insulates the ground.
It helps keep moisture in the soil.
Be sure to not bury your plants in the mulch, that will cause things to rot. Also no bueno.
Apply a pre-emergent herbicide to help keep out those weeds that sprout either late or early in the season.
A Little Planning Goes a Long Way
Careful consideration on how to prepare for the cold weather will help your flowers and plants look bee-utiful this Spring!