With a strong pruning, home gardeners release their perennials into the well-deserved winter break in autumn. This guide explains the correct cut. Find out here which perennials should be spared autumn pruning.
Not all perennials are cut back in the fall
Cut off faded perennials in clumps
In autumn, most of the perennials are only a shadow of themselves. During the season, the magnificent beauties have exhausted themselves completely and at the same time are busy taking care of offspring. Shortly before the onset of winter, all parts of the plant above the ground have died. Now is the ideal time window for cutting care. How to properly cut perennials:
- Recommended cutting tool: herb sickle, knife or secateurs
- Put on gloves to protect against poisonous plant sap, as with peonies
- Hold wilted shoots in bunches with one hand
- With the cutting tool in the other hand, cut off about 10 cm above the ground
The safety distance from the ground prevents accidentally cutting off valuable overwintering buds. Ideally, spread a thick layer of leaves and needle brushwood over the cut perennials so that the root balls in the soil are well protected from permanent winter wetness.
Do not cut perennials with a winter aspect
A wide range of decorative perennials adorns the winter garden with evergreen, brightly colored leaves or attractive seed heads. When dreary melancholy takes hold in the bed, the indestructible perennials set eye-catching accents. At the latest when winter puts a snow cap on the seed and fruit stands, you will be thankful that you did not use the scissors at this point. The following perennials are spared from the autumn pruning:
- Candytufts (Iberis)
- Golden Strawberries (Waldsteinia)
- Purple Bells (Heuchera)
- Bergenia (Bergenia)
- Tall Stonecrop (Sedum)
- Red-leaved Spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides)
- Yarrow (Achillea)
Also excluded from the autumn pruning are winter-flowering perennials, such as the unique snow rose, also known as the Christmas rose (Helleborus).
Cut grass in spring
Ornamental grasses enchant the otherwise empty garden with their stalks and picturesque spikes. For pruning, remember deciduous species only in early spring. Winter and evergreen grasses are only combed out with their hands in late winter.
Before Grim Reaper Frost moves into the garden, loosely tie the clumps together with string to form a tuft. This protects the sensitive heart of the plant from moisture and severe frost. Animal winter guests appreciate grasses as a safe retreat. Even hollow stalks are used by native insects as much sought-after winter quarters. Hungry birds get through the lean season safely thanks to the seeds.
tips
In contrast to perennials, an autumn pruning is taboo for most shrubs and trees. Cutting encourages twigs and branches to sprout soft and herbaceous. The window of time before the first frost is too short for the young shoots to mature and become woody. The fatal consequences are frostbite, which can extend deep into the wood. The main time for pruning is - with a few exceptions - in late winter.