Cut These Back in October, But Never These Three Before Spring, by Rosemary Ashworth on YouTube. 12 min 2 s.
- Video length
- 12 min 2 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Go round the border plant by plant. Yellow, flopping leaves mean the plant has finished for the year. Green leaves, fresh flowers or new shoots mean it is still working, so leave it.
Clean and sharpen your secateurs before you start. Wipe the blades with a cloth dipped in methylated spirit so you do not carry disease from one plant to the next.
Cut peonies down to about 5cm above the soil and clear the fallen leaves, which can carry disease. For hostas, pull or snip the collapsed leaves away at ground level.
Cut daylily foliage back to around 10cm. Trim hardy geraniums and lady's mantle down to the low rosette of new leaves at the base, but not into the crown itself.
Cut phlox stems down to about 5cm from the ground once the flowers are over. Clear the stems from the border rather than leaving them lying on the soil.
Leave penstemons alone apart from the flowered stems, which you can shorten to a healthy bud. Keep the leafy framework in place to protect the crown through winter.
Do not cut mophead hydrangeas now. They flower on old wood, so autumn cutting removes next year's blooms. Leave the faded heads on for frost protection and prune in spring.
Let ornamental grasses stand all winter. The stems and seedheads look good in frost and feed birds. Cut them down in early spring, just before new shoots appear.
Mulch the cleared ground with a 5cm layer of garden compost, keeping it clear of crowns and stems. Note anything that needs moving or dividing in spring.
Tips and common mistakes
October is not a deadline: if a plant is still flowering, wait a few weeks and cut it later.
Wear gloves and keep secateurs sharp, because blunt blades crush stems and leave ragged cuts.
Leave seedheads on anything you are not cutting back, as they feed birds and shelter insects.
If you are unsure whether a plant has finished, wait and look again before cutting.
Questions
Can I cut back mophead hydrangeas in October?
No. They flower on old wood, so autumn pruning removes next year's buds. Leave the faded flower heads on over winter and prune in spring.
Should penstemons be cut back in autumn?
Only the flowered stems. Keep the leafy framework until spring, then cut down to new growth at the base.
What if a plant is still flowering in October?
Leave it. Cutting a plant that is still growing wastes its energy, so wait until the foliage yellows and dies back.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
