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    Cutting back and leaves in the garden: should I leave herbaceous perennials over winter before pruning back?

    Hello everyone,

    I recently saw a video that suggested not cutting back plants/flowers and to leave them as home for the bugs over winter. I wondered what your thoughts were on this, is it best to leave them until around March and then tidy up or do it now/in the coming weeks?
    I also have a pond and I’m not sure when I should cut the iris and cattails back, do it early or late winter, the pond does have fish but also frogs and I’ve seen a few dragon flies down there. 

    Also what are your views on fallen leaves, I’ve read they are good mulch for plants but I’ve also read they encourage lots of slugs and snails who will eat everything next spring. So should I get them up or leave them? 
    Many thanks in advance,

    Christie 

    Hi Christie,

    Cutting back plants, some folks cut back others leave the flower heads on for the architectural look, plus there may be some seed left for the birds. I leave my fuchsia plants alone and cut back when I see new growth in the spring, the same for Hydrangeas, other perennials I cut back.

    You can tidy up your pond plants after the flowering period, remove the Iris stems and seed pods, unless you want them to seed, you can remove any damaged leaves during the season, or trim it up to keep it tidy, and once the first frost has hit the plant, trim the leaves down to about 4 inches, cattails can look good covered in frost if left but anything that is broken I would remove, don’t leave it in the pond.

    Fallen leaves, there are a few trees (not mine) at the front of my home, their leaves always end up by my front door, these go into the garden waste bin, the leaves from the trees in my back garden stay where they fall, leaf - mold is good for the garden, I sort the slugs and snails out next season, sometimes the gardener needs a winter break 🙂

    Happy Gardening

    Bob

    christie has reacted to this post.
    christie

    Thanks so much Bob. 

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