Tips for Preparing Your Garden for Winter

Following are some tips for preparing your garden for winter:

1. Cut back diseased perennials and destroy their debris.
2. Pull out annuals unless the seeds provide food for the birds.
3. Pull out weeds.
4. Clean and sharpen tools like pruners, hoes, shovels, etc.
5. Apply tree guards to protect trees from deer and rabbit damage in winter.
6. Keep applying animal repellants.
7. If you like to “fall” clean your flower garden, consider leaving these perennials* as they do better with spring pruning or else they provide food for the birds.
8. If you like to “spring” clean your flower garden, consider pruning these perennials** in fall as they will benefit from fall pruning.
9. Remove dead branches from your roses and shrubs.
10. Apply compost if your soil needs amending.
11. *Prune these perennials in fall:
    Anemone
    Bearded iris
    Bee-balm
    Blanket flower (gaillardia)
    Catmint
    Columbine (aquilegia)
    Daylily
    Golden Marguerite (anthemis)
    Painted Daisy (tanacetum)
    Penstemon
    Peony
    Phlox
    Salvia
    Yarrow (achillea)

12. **Prune these perennials in spring:
    Artemisia
    Asters
    Astile
    Black-eyed Susan (rudbeckia)
    Bleeding heart
    Bugloss
    Butterfly bush (buddleia)
    Butterfly weed (asclepia)
    Campanula
    Cardinal flower (lobelia cardinalis)
    Chrysanthemum (mammoth mums)
    Coneflowers
    Coral bells
    Cushion spurge (euphorbia)
    Delphinum
    Dianthus
    Foamflower (tiarella)
    Foxglove (digitalis)
    Gayfeather (liatris)
    Hosta
    Lady’s Mantle
    Lupines
    Chrysanthemum
    Oriental poppy
    Pincushion (scabiosa)
    Russian sage (pervoskia)
    Tickseed (coreopsis)
    Turtlehead (Chelone)

See our handouts for overwintering roses and hydrangeas.