Garden Clean-up: Do You Want Your Neighbors To Hate You?

Jan 30, 2010

In November in Michigan it is time to put your garden to sleep for the winter. There are a variety of different techniques for shutting down your garden in winter-each one has its pros and cons.

The “tidy clean-up” basically cuts every plant-except woody herbs and shrubs-to with-in an inch of it’s life and removes every ounce of dead plant matter with-in a mile. This method looks very clean. Reminiscent of your living room after the maid service leaves. Diseased leaves left behind with this strategy will probably contaminate next years foliage.This could also prevent future bug problems. There are less pro’s with this strategy because you have pretty much removed all of the excellent compost and mulch that leaving dead material provids for next year. The winter protection that plant debris provides has been removed and can no longer protect the roots below. You will now have to amend your garden in the spring with costly compost and fertilizer to make up for what you have taken away. Expensive in labor and costly in fewer nutrients this approach is perhaps the least recommended.

The next approach to fall clean up is perhaps a balance between vacuuming your beds and the doing nothing approach-this is what I call the “High/low maintenance” approach. Low maintenance does not mean no maintenance, though. This approach may involve a lot of work in the garden now, but will save you tons of work in the garden in the spring. In this approach one would remove dead annual plants,sprinkling the seeds as you go and putting away your garden decor if need be. These seeds will germinate if you don’t use a weed inhibitor in your beds. Go ahead and cut back your perennial plants, leaving one third of the plant, but don’t cut back woody plants and flowering shrubs. If you prune now they may not do so well next summer. Don’t remove all the seed heads from all your plants as this will take away food from the birds. Leave one foot on your ornamental grasses if you cut them back. Remove all the debris and leaves and rake out the beds. Blow remaining debris from beds onto your grass and chop with lawn mower. Mulching the last of the autumn leaves into your lawn keeps things looking tidy and is like free fertilizer for your grass. Supposedly oak leaves mulched into the lawn are a weed inhibitor. Ask your lawn guys to mulch leaves before the blow them away. Don’t forget to bury your tree roses. Protect your rhododendrons with burlap and wilt spray in the very cold months. Do not allow burlap to touch the shrubs. If you want better results from your rhododendrons, hydrangeas and roses next year then this is the time to make an effort to protect them.

The third approach to winter preparation is the “no maintenance” approach. Mother nature will tuck in all your perrennials with out any work from you-that is the big advantage of this technique. The con’s of doing nothing now are that your neighbors will hate you for your messy yard and you will have a lot to do in the spring at a time when lots of plants are starting to peek through the debris. These plants and bulbs are very tender in the spring and will get mangled as you tear through the beds with your rake and pruning shears. Not only that, but the soil in the spring is at it’s most vulnerable time and stepping in the beds now will compress it terribly and prevent the tender roots of plants from growing at their best. Remember that weeds left in your beds will grow through out the winter months if you do not pull them [out] in the autumn.

What ever your clean-up approach be sure to put away your garden decor for the winter as you don’t want it to get ruined. Also remember to clean out your bird feeders and bird houses and stock up on bird seed before the snow falls so you can sit back and watch the animals in your garden while it sleeps.

Each individual gardener has their own preferences of how to tackle their garden before winter comes. The approaches outlined in this article are meant to help you decide what fall maintenance technique is ideal for you. Go forth and maintain your gardens in the spirit of what will grow and bloom next year!