| Perennials |
All perennial flowers should
be cut to the ground once a year. We cut every
perennial to the ground in either fall or spring.
We cut most of our plants down in fall when they
appear unattractive. If it is ugly - cut it
down! Many perennials are evergreen or
semi-evergreen. They should not be cut in fall.
In addition some plants appear attractive at the end
of the season even though their active growth is over.
These we wait to cut in spring. An example would
be Sedum 'Autumn Fire' which still has an attractive
shape in the garden. If you do not cut it in the
fall, you may do so in the spring. It does not
affect the plant adversely to wait until spring.
We cut in the fall as we have more time then.
Many people wait until spring as they like to provide
food and shelter for wildlife. Even though a
plant is an evergreen perennial, many benefit from
being cut down to the ground in early spring.
This removes old, tired foliage which is soon replaced
with fresh, attractive leaves. Examples of this
would be Hellebores (Lenten Rose type) and some
evergreen Euphirbias. |
| Flowering
Shrubs |
We do absolutely no
pruning in the fall. Flowering shrubs that bloom
in the spring should be pruned immediately after
floweriing. Those that bloom in summer or fall
should be pruned in late winter or early spring.
Pruning is determined by whether a plant blooms on old
or new wood. Since there are exceptions it is
best to look up the plant in our catalog where the
care is given on each individual page. |
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