“My work schedule has been keeping me out of my perennial garden and now I will be on vacation until early April. Will I be too late to clean up the garden without damaging the perennials? Do you have any other tips for the spring perennial garden?”
— Javier Montoya, Park Ridge
It is generally best to cut perennials back before they begin growing in spring to avoid damaging new growth, but this is not always possible because of weather and available time..
There is not an exact date by which you should have your garden cut back, because the variable spring weather from year to year determines when the garden starts growing. There may be sections of your garden that get more sun and start growing earlier than others. Try to avoid working in beds that are wet, which is a common condition in early spring. Don’t be concerned about waiting until early April to clean up your beds.
If you are running late in getting your garden cleaned up, it is OK to continue removing garden debris from beds and cutting back perennials; just be more careful. I like to leave a light layer of leaves from fall in my beds, as I prefer a more natural look and want to save the time involved in doing a detailed cleanup.
Carefully remove leaves in areas where they have piled up deep enough to smother perennials. Leave a layer of leaves that allow you to partially see the ground. .
Vigorous raking can break new perennial growth off. A leaf blower can be used to remove debris. Stepping on daffodil foliage will not cause any lasting damage, but avoid early spring bulbs that are flowering or in bud.
Cut perennials back higher above the bed as needed to avoid damaging any new growth. This is a good practice to help promote pollinators in your garden too. It can be hard to see new growth on ornamental grasses, so cut them back to a few inches above the ground if you think they have begun growing.
Most perennials are best divided in spring when they are showing a couple inches of growth. When dividing a plant, choose the strongest-looking parts of the plant and discard the rest. Ornamental grasses or Siberian iris that have dead centers should be divided with the dead centers discarded. A sharp, flat garden spade works best for this job.
Plants that bloom in April and May can also be divided after they bloom if you would rather wait for them to flower first.
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For best results, install support for perennials that require staking in early spring as they begin to grow. The plants can then grow through the support system and look more natural, versus trying to tie them up later as they start flopping.
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at [email protected]. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.