When To Cut Back Perennials

In the crunch of fall house cleaning and the annual cold-weather cleanup, don’t forget to leave time for garden perennials, too.

Cutting back foliage in the fall can protect flowering plants from disease and provide a clean start for regrowth when winter loosens its grip. But some plants are worth keeping around for the winter if they benefit wildlife and offer visual interest.

Dick Zondag, owner of Wisconsin-based Jung Seed Company, offers tips for 10 perennials to trim this fall and five you can leave alone until spring.

Cut Back: Iris

These showy summer favorites can be vulnerable to infestations of iris borers, which tunnel into the base of the rhizome to lay eggs. Trim the fan of sword-shaped leaves at an angle, so they slope upward into a center peak no higher than six to eight inches.

Cut Back: Bee Balm

Cutting back this plant that sports red, pink or deep purple flowers keeps it healthy for hummingbirds and butterflies that flock to it in mid-summer. Trim bee balm (monarda) down to the soil to discourage problems such as mildew. If plants are showing signs of mildew, dispose of cuttings with yard waste rather than composting.

Cut Back: Peony

These bold late-spring bloomers also can be vulnerable to mildew. Grab the leaves and cut back the stems to a few inches above the soil after the first frost. They’ll be tidied up and ready for spring when new red shoots emerge after the ground thaws.

Cut Back: Daylilies

Keep your shears sharp for cutting back the profusion of daylily leaves that burst from tubers like fireworks. Jung Seed Company, which has more than 250 varieties of daylilies in its fields, does this every fall. Reach down near the base of each plant to encircle and secure a tight handful of leaves. Cut leaves a few inches above the soil.

Cut Back: Lilies

Lush, vibrant lilies from bulbs, including Asiatic, Oriental, Tiger and Trumpet lilies, can stick up as straight as driveway snow stakes during the growing season. “Let them go until the green disappears,” Zondag says. “When they turn to yellow or red, that signals leaves are no longer feeding the bulbs.”

It only takes one quick snip of the stalk near the soil line, and you’re done. Sometimes the stalk may come off with a gentle twist, making them one of the easiest plants to clean up in the fall.

Cut Back: Phlox

Like bee balm, this fragrant flower likes to spread and can be vulnerable to mildew. Trim it down to the soil in the fall to help prevent mildew from taking hold. If plants are especially thick, try using a small billhook to grab and cut off stems.

Cut Back: Blazing Star

Also known as gayfeather or liatris, blazing star’s bright purple flowering spikes are often the star of butterfly and prairie gardens. Trim back its flower spikes and leaves to the base of the plant so it’s ready for spring and another year of bold color and texture.

Cut Back: Hosta

Use a pair of sturdy scissors or a pruner to trim back hosta leaves near the crown to keep this shade-loving perennial healthy. Keeping dead, composting hosta leaves and any other debris cleaned up eliminates places for slugs to hide and thrive once spring returns.

Cut Back: Hollyhocks

With stalks up to six feet high, these cottage garden staples can get gangly in the fall. Cut back the sturdy stems about six inches from the soil to prevent problems such as leaf rust. If you have seed pods, scatter them in the fall for more plants in the spring.

Cut Back: Chrysanthemum

This vibrant star of fall’s flowering plants can be cut back after they’ve bloomed or been hit by a hard frost. Trim the plant down to about six or eight inches from the soil. Leaving some of the stems can help hold leaves or other mulch that can insulate the plant from harmful freeze-and-thaw cycles.

Let Be: Sedum

While groundcover sedum will be buried in the snow, taller varieties might poke out from the drifts and offer some interesting visuals with their tightly clustered seed heads.

Let Be: Ornamental Grasses

Dried ornamental grasses such as little bluestem, fountain grass or sea oats can rustle beautifully in the winter, or trap snow, which can insulate plants and shelter wildlife.

Let Be: Russian Sage

Almost as tall and wispy as ornamental grasses, fragrant purple-flowered Russian sage can likewise add texture and shelter to the winter garden.

Let Be: Coneflowers

Seed heads on coneflowers (echinacea) can look pretty covered with frost or snow, but they also offer important sustenance for winter birds.

Let Be: Hibiscus

Leave stalks on late-emerging plants such as perennial hibiscus so you have a reminder of where they are. Otherwise, they can take so long to show fresh growth in the spring that you might think they didn’t make it through winter. Trim old growth as needed when new leaves emerge.

The post 10 Perennials You Should Cut Back Every Fall (And 5 to Let Be) appeared first on Taste Recipes.

A truly healthy and productive setup isn’t as simple as plopping your laptop on a coffee table and calling it an office. Here are our best tips and tricks for creating a successful work-at-home space.

Find Your Home Workspace Fit

Ideal home offices have a door you can close to block noise and distractions. If that’s not possible, seek other adaptable solutions. A fold-down desk plus tri-fold screen/room divider ($84) stakes out a little privacy in any spare corner. Or you can convert a closet into an office, too.

Or go totally portable, such as a kitchen cart ($50) converted into a standing work station, or a small portable TV tray ($45) or laptop desk ($35). That gives you flexibility to move it around the house, wherever it’s quietest. Just be sure give your files and supplies a dedicated home in a cabinet, drawer or closet, so you can easily tuck away your work at the end of the day.

Make It Video Call-Ready

Keep at least one wall of your office or work area free of clutter that can be distracting during virtual meetings. Position your camera so lamps or ceiling fans don’t sprout from behind your head.

Select Your Seating

If you’re going to make one investment, a quality place to sit is a wise choice. The U.S. Occupational and Health Safety Administration (OSHA) recommends an office chair with lumbar support for your back, the ability to swivel between monitors if necessary and height adjustability, especially if a partner will also be using the chair. Install a roller mat ($50) if the home office is in a carpeted area. Take a look at these other home office essentials.

Create Quiet

Ideally, you’d shut out a noisy household or neighborhood by sound-proofing your home office. Since that’s hardly realistic for everyone, other options include investing in noise-canceling headphones ($60) or a white noise app with earbuds.

Raise Your Screen

If you use a dining room or kitchen table as a workspace, elevate your computer screen so it’s at eye level or slightly lower, to keep things easy on your eyes, arms, neck and shoulders. Place a laptop on a stack of sturdy books for a speedy solution, or invest in a stand ($22). Or build your own computer stand with a jigsaw and $10 worth of materials.

Reduce Eye Strain

While it’s tempting to face a window with a view outside, that can increase eye strain if your computer is directly in front of you. Pivot your work station so natural light comes in from the sides, rather than behind or in front of your computer.

No Chair Required

Elevated work stations are said to provide a host of benefits, including increased circulation and productivity. A simple tabletop standing desk easy to make. Or you could purchase a standing desk ($135). Another option more active than a traditional desk chair: an exercise ball ($15), with or without a stand.

Do a Desktop Right

If you prefer a desktop computer, invest in a wireless mouse and keyboard, plus a clamp-on keyboard tray ($56) that attaches to and slides beneath a table or desk. That reduces shoulder, back and wrist strain.

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