Washington Evening Journal
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Time is right to clean up the garden
By Jean Thomson
Oct. 25, 2018 8:46 am
While temperatures stay reasonably mild, we can take advantage of favorable conditions for cleaning up our gardens. After a recent freeze, vegetables and other annuals are done for the season. Pulling them up and tossing them on the compost pile is the first and easiest step in the clean- up process.
The one exception to the 'pull and toss” rule is any plant showing signs of disease or infestation. If such plants are annuals, they should be pulled, bagged, and disposed of with the trash. If they are perennials, cut them off close to the soil level, bag the cuttings and surrounding leaves, and put out with the trash. (Don't forget to clean garden shears or any other equipment that you have used.)
Deciding what to do about healthy perennials is the harder part of fall decision-making. The gardener needs to balance considerations of aesthetics, plant-well-being, and maintenance of habitat.
A number of perennials, including daylilies, hostas, and iris, should ideally be cut back. Otherwise, various diseases and pests may be fostered by their decomposing foliage.
In contrast, most ornamental grasses may be left standing. They certainly add aesthetic interest in the garden, and their foliage helps to protect the plants' crowns.
Plants that combine relatively stiff stems and flat blooms, such as sedums and yarrow, may also be left standing. They allow native bees to take cover, and a bit of snow on the blooms is attractive.
Plants that bloom very late, including chrysanthemums and asters as well as turtlehead, should be left in place. Leaving the spent blooms helps to promote a cap of insulating snow rather than a soggy layer directly on the plant's crown.
A good layer of leaf litter, shredded or not, can be spread over the entire garden. This practice gives beneficial insects a place to overwinter. In addition, that layer becomes beneficial organic matter for next year's garden.
Of course, there are likely to be surplus leaves! Rake these up and put them in the compost pile where their 'brown” will nicely complement the 'green” of discarded plant material.
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