Garden Clean-up: Do You Want Your Neighbors To Hate You?
November in Michigan is the time to put your flower garden to bed for the coming winter. there are different pros and cons to the three most popular fall maintenance clean-up styles.
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 is the most tidy and neat looking strategy. Not so different from how a clean carpet appears after you vacuum it. To make sure that next years plants are disease free this technique is the best choice because there is no debris left behind.Try this technique if you are having slug and or mold challenges. By removing all the plant matter from your beds you have removed all the good compost for next year. The winter protection that plant debris provides has been removed and can no longer protect the roots below. Which means that you will have to add expensive fertilizers and amendments to your garden to make up for this. More expensive and less healthy for your garden this technique is not the best approach to a healthy garden.
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. High/low maintenance technique is by no means a no maintenance approach. Think of low maintenance as meaning less work in the spring, but still a good work out in the garden this weekend and probably next week end too. 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. Proceed to cut down your perennial plants to two thirds with the exception of woody herbs and shrubs. If you cut these back now they may not do so well next summer. Leave seed heads on some of your native plants and grasses for the birds for the winter. Leave one foot on your ornamental grasses if you cut them back. Remove all the debris and leaves and rake out the beds. Use a blower and blow leaves onto your lawn and mulch those with a 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. Encourage you lawn care people to mulch leaves as much as they are able to. Don’t forget to bury your tree roses. Protect your rhododendrons with burlap and wilt spray in the very cold months. Try to prevent the burlap from touching the leaves as this can contribute to drying them out. 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 “no maintenance” technique to fall clean-up is the final and perhaps least labor intensive approach. Mother nature will tuck in all your perrennials with out any work from you-that is the big advantage of this strategy. 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 decorative garden decor for the winter as you don’t want it to get ruined. Also remember to clean out your cool bird feeders 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. This article is intended to be a guide to help you decide which approach is best for you. Most importantly have fun in your garden!
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Tags: annual plants, fall clean-up, garden decor, garden maintenance, gardening, perrennial plants, shrubs, woody herbs