Fall Clean-up -Are You Doing It Right?
Autumn in Michigan is the time to prepare your flower beds for the coming winter months. Fall clean-up can be managed with one out of three possible maintenance strategies,each one is good or bad in some way.
The "tidy clean-up" removes essentially all dead plant matter from the garden-with the exception of woody perrenials and flowering shrubs. This method looks very clean. Not so different from how a clean carpet appears after you vacuum it. Very few diseased leaves are left behind to infect next years foliage when using this strategy.It may help with any insect and pest problems you could have. There are less pro's with this strategy because you have pretty much removed all of the good compost and mulch that leaving dead material provids for next year. You have also removed the winter protection and that plant matter provides for roots. You will now have to amend your flower beds in the spring with expensive 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. High/low maintenance technique is by no means a no maintenance approach. 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 decorative garden decor if need be. These should germinate if you don't use preen in your garden. Go ahead and cut back your perennial plants, leaving one third of the plant, but don't cut back woody plants and flowering shrubs. You do not want to touch those until the spring when all danger of frost is past. Don't remove all the seed heads from all your plants as this will take away food from the birds. If you cut down your grass leave about one foot to provide winter protection. Rake out the beds and remove all of the cuttings and most of the leaves that have come down from the trees. Blow remaining debris from beds onto your grass and chop with lawn mower. Those autumn leaves are like free fertilizer when they are mulched into the lawn. 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. You may need to bury some of 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. This is the time to put some extra effort into winter protection for your flowering shrubs such as rhododendrums, roses and hydrangeas.
The third approach to winter preparation is the "no maintenance" approach. Mother nature will tuck in all your plants 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. Also one should remember that soil in early spring is very friable and can be compressed as you step in the beds. Also remember that many weeds will continue to grow through the winter so if you did not pull them out they will have grown stronger.
What ever your clean-up approach be sure to put away your outdoor garden decor for the winter as you dont 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. Most importantly have fun in your garden!
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