Should You Cut Back Perennials in Fall?

As the growing season winds down in Massachusetts, you may be tempted to clean up every garden bed and cut your perennials to the ground. But before reaching for the pruners, take another look.

Some plants benefit from fall cleanup, while others are worth leaving through winter. Healthy stems and seed heads can provide food and shelter for wildlife while adding texture and interest to the winter landscape.

Why Leave Some Perennials Standing?

A faded perennial isn’t necessarily finished contributing to your garden.

Leaving selected plants standing can:

• Provide seeds for birds
• Offer shelter for beneficial insects
• Create overwintering habitat
• Add structure to winter gardens
• Protect plant crowns from winter weather
• Reduce the amount of fall cleanup you need to do

Sometimes a slightly less tidy garden is actually a more wildlife-friendly garden.

Perennials Worth Leaving

Plants with sturdy stems and attractive seed heads are often excellent candidates to leave standing through winter.

Consider leaving:

• Coneflowers
• Black-Eyed Susans
• Asters
• Goldenrod
• Sedum
• Ornamental grasses

Their dried flowers and seed heads can provide food for birds while adding shape and movement to the winter landscape.

What Should You Cut Back?

Not everything needs to stay.

Fall is a good time to remove plant material that could contribute to disease or other garden problems.

Consider cutting back and removing:

• Diseased foliage
• Damaged or rotting stems
• Plants with significant fungal problems
• Collapsed or unhealthy growth
• Spent annuals
• Weeds before they produce more seeds

Keeping diseased plant material out of the garden can help give beds a cleaner start next spring.

Save Healthy Stems for Beneficial Insects

Some beneficial insects use hollow or pithy plant stems as nesting and overwintering sites.

Instead of cutting every perennial down to the soil, leave some healthy stems standing. You can finish cleaning them up later in spring as the garden begins waking up.

Let Ornamental Grasses Stand

Ornamental grasses are one of the easiest plants to leave alone in fall.

Their dried foliage and seed heads provide beautiful movement, height, and texture throughout winter. They can also offer shelter for wildlife.

Wait until late winter or early spring to cut them back before fresh growth begins.

Don’t Forget About the Birds

Those dried seed heads might not look as colorful as summer flowers, but birds may see them differently.

Coneflowers, Black-Eyed Susans, and other seed-producing perennials can provide natural food sources during the colder months.

Leaving a few seed heads also means more activity to enjoy in your winter garden.

Clean Up Selectively

Fall garden cleanup doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

Remove diseased material and anything that has become messy or problematic, but allow healthy stems, grasses, and seed heads to remain where appropriate.

The result can be a landscape that’s healthier, more interesting through winter, and more welcoming to wildlife.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I cut all my perennials back in fall?

No. Many healthy perennials can remain standing through winter, particularly plants with sturdy stems or seed heads.

Which perennials should I leave standing?

Coneflowers, Black-Eyed Susans, asters, goldenrod, sedum, and ornamental grasses are good candidates.

Should diseased foliage be removed?

Yes. Diseased or badly damaged plant material is generally better removed rather than left in the garden.

When should I cut back ornamental grasses?

Most ornamental grasses can remain standing through winter and be cut back in late winter or early spring before new growth begins.

Why leave seed heads?

Seed heads can provide food for birds while adding natural texture and winter interest to the landscape.

Visit The Salt Box Nursery

Need help deciding what stays and what goes? Stop by The Salt Box Nursery for fall gardening supplies, perennials, and advice for preparing your Massachusetts landscape for the seasons ahead.

The Salt Box Nursery
562 Boston Road
Billerica, MA 01821

Open Daily: 8 AM to 5 PM