Tips To Caring For Your Perennials This Fall

If your garden is full of beautiful perennials, use these tips to help them stay healthy through the winter so that your garden can thrive again when the weather warms up!

Plant New Perennials

If you’re looking to plant more perennials to amplify your garden’s beauty come spring, now is the perfect time to do so! It’s best to plant now so that the perennials have plenty of time to establish roots during the rainy season so they can bloom and grow next year. It’s better for roots to be underground in the cold winter weather rather than above ground in a pot.

Move Existing Perennials

If you have a perennial that bothers you in its current home, take the fall to replant it in a new spot. Start by preparing the new hole, then move the plant from its old spot.  If the plant is fairly young, dig around the root ball, lift it out, and move the entire plant to a new home. If it’s old, consider cutting down the plant to a manageable size. You can use a tarp or towel to help carry the plant to its new spot.

Divide and Multiply

Have some perennials that have been thriving maybe a little too much? Divide them now so that they don’t continue to choke out their neighbors. Dividing the plant also helps it thrive. Cut back the plant until you can see new growth on the crown, leaving enough so that you can lift it out, then set the plant on a tarp. Use a sharp knife or spade to cut between sections of the plant, separating old and new. Replant the new growth in as many sections as you’d like, and compost the old plant.

Cut it Back

Many people have trouble discerning when to cut back their perennials, but a good rule of thumb is simply “when it’s no longer pretty”. If the foliage is still green this week, dont’ feel bad about leaving it! If you like dried flower stalks, let it be! You’re in charge of your garden – top off your perennials when it pleases you.

You might also like: Explore The Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

Mulch

Give your garden a good layer of compost and leaves/pinestraw/mulch now so that they can soak in the nutrients all winter long while staying nice and warm.