Time to Fall Prune These Plants Back

If you haven't pruned these plants back in your yard yet, go ahead and take a little time to fall prune these plants back. 

So when you've got a few minutes, here and there, pop outdoors with your clippers and a trash bag to clip back these in your yard:

Daylilies - once the plants stop producing blooms, the foliage generally begins to go dormant and can be clipped or weed whacked down to the ground. If you haven't done this, collect the foliage up and cut off as close to the ground as you can get. Bag the dead foliage and move on.

Irises and Peonies - when iris and peony foliage begins to wither, that's when to prune it back to a couple of inches above the ground. missed it? no problem - just clip it back to a couple inches above the ground and spread some mulch around it.

Hostas - hostas come to life around late spring and brighten our shaded gardens all summer. After fall frosts, hosta foliage begins to go to mush and ready to be clipped back to the ground. 

Butterfly Bushes - in most areas, butterfly bushes dies back to the ground in late fall as perennials. After they begin to die back, it is a good time to clip then back to about 5 or 6 inches above the ground. In warm climates butterfly bushes often grow as woody shrubs that do not die back. 

Raspberry and Blackberry Bushes - clip off each cane that produced flowers earlier in the year - even if it did not produce fruit. These are bi-annual producers. Canes that are new and grow during season 1 remain on the plant and will flower and fruit during season 2. After the plants begin to go dormant after season 2, it is time to remove those canes. It is normal to have both seasons of canes on the plant (both seasons 1 and 2).

Lavender - after your lavender plants are a couple of years old, it is time to begin pruning. Clip young lavender plants back to about 4 inches above the ground. As they age, clip back to the most woody parts of the plant. 

If you only prune a few of the plants in your yard this fall, be sure to prune these pants to prepare them for next spring's growth.