The designer who planned our landscape said in her opinion, it's better to let them stand over winter and cut them in the spring. One reason she gave was that birds and critters can use the seeds and dried plants; also, they look good in an architectural or structural way, I think. Especially with snow or ice on them.

Another was one I hadn't thought of: she said that if you cut the stems off in fall, they are or can get dried out and hollow, and when rain or snowmelt runs down in them over the cold months, like a straw, it can go all the way to the heart of the plant, refreeze and damage it or even kill it.

Sure enough, this morning I saw goldfinches eating the seed heads of the spent blackeyed susans. My cat enjoyed watching them out the window. There was a good, solid frost this morning here in Oswego. The weather bug at the Beacon News online said it was 28 degrees at the Aurora airport when I got up.

It can vary per the type of plant, but I don't know of any plants that will do worse with them left on. A lot of people what to cut them all down as soon as they can to save work in the spring. I believe that the dead foliage acts as insulation and is more natural. There are plants that have winter interest, but there also plants that might harbor vermine. Their have been some other threads on this in perennials.

I usually do my cleanup in the fall, so it's easier to mulch - we use shredded leaves and grass.

I've been leaving mine over winter and cleaning up in spring. But this fall, I am going to trim off the iris, raspberries, and peonies. I don't want more iris borers, or botrytis. I'll be hauling the debris from those three to the municipal compost station, which gets waaaay hotter than my pile at home.

I always wait until spring and feel that it does help everything get through winter, as stated above. It gives me an excuse to get out there early in spring and work with my plants and discover what is coming up (truly one of my favorite parts of gardening)!

Having said that, I may cut back some of my roses that are looking pretty sad black-spot-wise.

I do most of my perennial cleanup in Spring too. I usually clear out the annuals and veggies around Thanksgiving, and trim back my phlox then too. But that's the only perennial I cut back. It gets powdery mildew so I don't want that laying around. I've never had a problem with other diseases or pests so I let the other plants be. When Spring comes and I see the new leaves and plants coming up, I clean everything up. I feel more like doing it then instead of now. I hate to cut back anything that's green now. But in Spring I want to get rid of the dead things so I can see the new growth coming up. I don't put any more mulch down except on my roses. The leaves on my rugosa roses have turned, but my other roses are still blooming. I mulch them all with cow manure which I'll put on around Thanksgiving.

Kat

Mother Nature does it in the spring, to the extent that she does it at all, and that's good enough for me. I like the winter interest and the benefit to wildlife. I also notice much less winter-kill than other gardeners.

I find it so fun that I can relax and watch so many others run around trying to make their gardens as neat and tidy as their living rooms. I'm usually kind of a particular person about things being just so, but in the yard I can let loose and it doesn't bother me a bit. It's been very interesting for me to witness.

i clean in the fall. i don't want to look at it in the winter and spring is busy with spring sports starting for the kids. everything seems to hit the fan around here in the spring for some reason............love, mom

thanks all so much!! You were all a BIG help!