I usually go through and lightly rake my flower beds at least once in the fall and that cuts down on the amount of clean up I have to do in the spring. If you have a problem with rotting perennials or rotting bulbs, it's especially important to get as much leaf debris off your flower beds.
The best time to start your fall garden preparation is after the first few freezing nights have killed back much of the flowers and foliage on the plants.
While many gardeners believe that fall cleanup is the only way to go, there are actually several benefits to leaving a majority of cleanup for the spring. Since many animals and insects are adapted to use plants for winter survival, it makes for a healthier garden to keep their needs in mind.
Some perennials, like hostas, peonies and daylilies, need to be pruned in fall to avoid winter damage. Plants like these should be pruned after the first few frosts in late fall or early winter. Other perennials like mums and coneflowers are better off being pruned in spring just before new growth comes in.
We've already established that leaving your garden to decay over the winter helps to hold soil in place and returns nutrients. You can leave most of it standing or chop and drop some of it to become a natural fertilizing layer where it lands.
Rather than the tedious task of raking and bagging leaves and taking them to the landfill, the best way to reduce greenhouse gases and benefit your garden is to leave the leaves! Leaves create a natural mulch that helps to suppress weeds while fertilizing the soil as it breaks down.
When To Winterize Your Gardens. The best time to start winterizing gardens is after the first hard freeze in the fall. A hard freeze occurs when the temperature gets below freezing overnight, killing off tender annual plants and vegetables.
Also, do not cut back hardy perennials like garden mums (Chrysanthemum spp.), anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), red-hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria), and Montauk daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum). Leave the foliage. It's important to protect the root crowns over winter.
Fall mulching saves time and energy in the spring because it cuts down on the need to weed. It also saves you the labor of spreading new soil and mulch after winter snows. You may also save money too. Mulched perennials are likely to last the winter, reducing your outlay on new blooms.
Many landscaping professionals actually practice — and prefer — fall mulching. Fall mulch works like spring mulch to retain soil moisture, suppress weed growth and protect bare soil from erosion.
Unlike perennials, annuals do not come back from season to season so there is no reason to leave these in the ground. Pull them up, roots and all, and add them to your compost pile. Remove weeds and leaf debris. These are common places for diseases and pests over winter.
Whether the leaves absolutely need to be cleaned up at this time is another matter entirely. From an ecological standpoint, the answer to this question is no. However, if you intend to maintain a healthy lawn beneath your trees, you really should try to remove as many leaves as possible before the winter.
For the most part, leaves in perennials beds, under shrubs,and in other mulched areas do not have to be removed. Even thick layers of fallen leaves will break down over the winter leaving you with an inch or two of mulch the following spring.
Excessive leaf matter on your lawn going into winter is bad for several reasons. First, it will smother the grass and if not removed very soon in the spring it will inhibit growth. Second, it can promote the snow mold diseases. And finally, turf damage from critters (voles, mice) can be more extensive in the spring.
Experts say raking and removing leaves can be worse for your yard – and for the planet, too. Leaving at least some of the leaves in your yard can help fertilize your grass and other plants, provide shelter for animals and even reduce emissions from landfills.
After the first hard freeze, remove annuals in your garden beds, and if they're not diseased, add them to your compost pile. If you live in a region with mild winters, you can replace them with cold tolerant varieties. You should also harvest seeds, if possible, and begin drying them.
Deep water plants before ground freeze, and continue to water during winter months when temperatures remain above freezing but without precipitation, Erect physical windbreaks. Wrap problem plants with burlap or other material to protect from wind and subsequent moisture loss to evergreen shrubs and small trees.
Fall is an optimum time to kill perennial weeds rather than just pulling them out to keep them under control. The reason that fall is the time to deal with these weeds is that the plants are still growing vigorously. They have large root systems, often with storage roots to sustain the plants through the winter.