A thoughtful fall garden clean-up can help prepare your garden for the next growing season while also supporting winter wildlife and maintaining some winter interest. 

For a fall garden clean-up, consider the following steps: bring in any tender plants that won’t survive colder temperatures, weed and clear any seed-laden weeds before winter, and leave some leaves to provide habitat and protection for beneficial insects. You may also want to compost the remaining leaves to enrich your soil for the next growing season.

Here’s a a detailed guide on what to clean up and what to leave.

What to Clean Up

1. Diseased Plants:
   • Remove any plants showing signs of disease (blight, mildew, rust). This prevents pathogens from overwintering in the soil and spreading next year.
   • Dispose of these in the trash, not the compost, to avoid contaminating your compost pile.
2. Invasive or Aggressive Plants:
   • Remove any invasive plants or aggressive self-seeders (like mint or morning glory) before they spread.
3. Spent Annuals and Vegetables:
   • Pull up annuals and vegetable plants that won’t survive winter, such as tomatoes, beans, and petunias. Compost healthy plants.
   • Remove fallen fruits and vegetables to prevent attracting pests.
4. Weeds:
   • Fall is a good time to pull up weeds, especially perennial weeds like dandelions or thistle. This helps prevent them from taking hold in the spring.
5. Trimming Herbaceous Perennials:
   • Cut back the stems of herbaceous perennials like hostas or daylilies if they have completely died back.
6. Mulching:
   • After clean-up, adding mulch to bare soil areas can suppress weeds and protect plant roots from extreme winter temperatures.

What to Leave for Winter

1. Seed Heads and Stalks:
   • Coneflowers, Rudbeckia, Sunflowers – Leave seed heads for birds like finches to feed on throughout the winter.
   • Ornamental Grasses – Provide winter interest with their texture and movement. They can also serve as habitat for wildlife.
   • Sedums and Astilbe – Their sturdy stalks hold up well through winter and offer visual interest in the snow.
2. Leaf Litter:
   • Leave some leaves in garden beds (especially those with perennials) as they provide a natural mulch, habitat for insects, and organic matter for the soil.
   • Rake excess leaves into garden beds or compost, especially if they’re on your lawn, where they could smother grass.
3. Perennials for Pollinators and Wildlife:
   • Milkweed – Provides shelter for pollinators like monarch butterflies and native bees.
   • Asters, Goldenrod, Joe Pye Weed – Their hollow stems provide nesting sites for solitary bees and other beneficial insects.
4. Evergreens:
   • Leave evergreen shrubs, trees, and ground covers alone for winter interest and shelter for wildlife.
5. Sheltering Plants:
   • Plants like ferns, hellebores, and heucheras hold their foliage through the winter and can add structure to the winter garden.

Wildlife-Friendly Practices

• Leave Brush Piles: Create small brush piles with fallen branches and stems. These provide shelter for small mammals, birds, and beneficial insects.
• Delay Cutting Back Everything: Waiting until spring to cut back perennials and grasses can allow beneficial insects to overwinter in your garden.

This approach not only protects your garden’s health but also helps create a habitat for wildlife while ensuring a visually interesting winter landscape.

Fall Garden Clean-Up: Dos

Here’s a list of fall garden clean-up dos and don’ts to help you maintain a healthy garden while protecting wildlife and preparing for winter:

1. Do Remove Diseased Plants:
   • Pull out plants that show signs of disease or pest infestations to prevent the spread of harmful pathogens or pests in the garden.
2. Do Pull Weeds:
   • Remove weeds before they set seed to minimize their growth in the spring. Focus on perennial weeds like dandelions and thistles.
3. Do Compost Healthy Plant Material:
   • Compost healthy, disease-free plant material to create a nutrient-rich soil amendment for next year.
4. Do Mulch:
   • Add a layer of mulch (such as straw, shredded leaves, or wood chips) to protect plant roots from frost and help retain moisture.
5. Do Clean Up Vegetable Gardens:
   • Remove spent vegetable plants, fallen fruits, and vegetables to prevent pest issues and disease from overwintering.
6. Do Leave Some Leaves:
   • Let leaves decompose in flower beds or under shrubs where they can provide shelter for beneficial insects and nutrients for the soil.
7. Do Protect Tender Perennials:
   • Cover tender perennials or lift and store bulbs like dahlias and cannas before frost hits, to protect them from freezing temperatures.
8. Do Leave Seed Heads for Wildlife:
   • Leave seed heads from plants like sunflowers, coneflowers, and grasses to provide food for birds and shelter for insects.
9. Do Prune Dead or Damaged Branches:
   • Prune any dead, diseased, or damaged branches from trees and shrubs to prevent further decay and promote healthy growth in spring.
10. Do Store Garden Tools:
    • Clean, sharpen, and store garden tools to prevent rust and keep them in good condition for next season.

Fall Garden Clean-Up: Don’ts

1. Don’t Cut Everything Back:
   • Avoid cutting back perennials like ornamental grasses and plants with seed heads. They add winter interest and provide habitat for wildlife.
2. Don’t Rake All the Leaves:
   • Don’t remove all leaves from your garden. Excessive raking can strip the soil of organic material and harm overwintering beneficial insects.
3. Don’t Remove Mulch:
   • Keep existing mulch in place or add more to help regulate soil temperature and protect plant roots during winter.
4. Don’t Over-prune Shrubs and Trees:
   • Avoid heavy pruning in the fall, especially for spring-blooming shrubs like lilacs and forsythia. Pruning too much now can cut off next year’s blooms.
5. Don’t Compost Diseased Plants:
   • Avoid composting any diseased or pest-infested plants. This can spread pathogens in your compost and into your garden next season.
6. Don’t Leave Vegetable Debris:
   • Don’t leave vegetable plants, particularly those that had pests or diseases, as they can harbor overwintering threats.
7. Don’t Forget to Water Evergreens:
   • Water evergreens well before the ground freezes to help them survive the winter months.
8. Don’t Forget to Clean Bird Feeders:
   • Clean bird feeders and baths regularly to prevent the spread of disease, especially as birds rely on them more in winter.
9. Don’t Over-fertilize:
   • Avoid applying fertilizer in the fall as it can promote tender new growth that won’t survive the winter.
10. Don’t Delay Winter Plant Protections:
    • If you live in a cold region, put up windbreaks, burlap wraps, or coverings over sensitive plants before heavy frost sets in.

By following these dos and don’ts, you’ll ensure that your garden is ready for winter and well-prepared for a healthy spring.