![]() Here are some perennials that are best to leave standing for winter. ![]() You may not share my idea of winter beauty and decide to remove anything that doesn’t support birds and beneficial insects while providing the beauty you desire. After a few years, they began to see the many benefits, and some started doing the same. Thirty years ago, my neighbors were puzzled by my winter garden. I live in the north and find they add interest to my winter landscape as well as support birds and beneficial insects. ![]() I leave all my healthy perennials standing for winter. What Perennials to Keep Standing for Winter Avoid disturbing this new growth if you decide to cut back the bare stems of these plants. Some perennials like yarrow (Achillea), Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum x superbum), and globe thistle (Echinops) form a rosette of leaves at their base in the fall. The juncos will enjoy dining on the seeds, and you will enjoy these visitors to the garden.Įnjoy the winter foliage of evergreen and semi-evergreen perennials by leaving them for winter. Do leave the seed heads of late blooming hostas intact if possible. The last thing you need is more hosta-eating slugs living under your plants. It also removes the winter homes for slug eggs. Removing the leaves once the fall color fades and leaves die reduces the risk of leaf nematodes overwintering in the crown of the plants. Contact your local municipality for disposal options for this type of plant debris. Discard don’t compost the pest-infested plant material since most of our compost piles do not heat up sufficiently to kill the insect pests and diseases. Cut these perennials back to several inches above the ground. This reduces the risk of these problems occurring in next year’s garden. Start by removing any diseased and insect pest-infested perennials. Here are a few tips to help you with fall cleanup. This change of habit may have you wondering what perennials you should leave standing and which ones should be cut down before winter. A variety of pollinators and other beneficial insects overwinter in or near the stems of perennials. If this hasn’t convinced you, consider leaving perennials standing for winter to support beneficial insects that pollinate our plants, help manage insect pests, and more. If not for the birds, winter would be much longer and drearier in my part of the country. These welcome visitors add color and motion, entertaining us throughout the winter. The seed heads of many perennials like coneflower, rudbeckia, liatris, and bee balm attract seed-eating songbirds like finches, sparrows, chickadees, juncos, and jays to the winter garden. This subtle winter beauty may not be as colorful as your summer garden, but it adds interest to what may be an otherwise drab winter landscape. Many perennials provide motion, form, and texture to the winter garden. Recently more and more gardeners are realizing the many benefits and beauty of leaving healthy perennials stand for winter. For some gardeners, this has meant cutting every perennial to the ground before winter. Perennials to Keep Standing through WinterĪs fall color begins to fade, you may be contemplating a bit of garden clean-up. Perennials to Keep Standing through Winter By Melinda Myers - horticulturist and gardening expert
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