As the gardening season winds down and fall takes hold, many of us find ourselves reaching for the hedge clippers and pruners, eager to tidy up our garden beds before winter’s arrival. However, fall clean-up may not be the best time to cut back all your perennial plants. In fact, there are a number of common perennials that benefit from staying up through the cold weather months. Leaving them intact not only provides winter interest to your garden but also plays an important role in supporting the next year's healthy growth. Let’s explore why it’s often a good idea to leave some perennials standing and which plants should be spared from the pruners this season. If you’re looking for general information about pruning, check out this previous blog post about pruning trees.

Supporting Next Year's Growth

Dried Hydrangea — Hydrangeas are still beautiful at the end of the season.

While it may feel counterintuitive, some herbaceous perennials perform better when you leave their old growth intact. For instance, leaving stems and seed heads on plants like purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) and black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) can help support new growth the following year. These two plants will reseed themselves giving you a more robust plant in the coming year.

Additionally, flower stems provide structural support for new shoots as they emerge, allowing them to grow more robustly. In particular, leaving some of the old stems on tall plants (such as joe pye weed, hydrangea, and hardy hibiscus) helps anchor next year’s growth, preventing flower stalk flopping and promoting a more upright habit. When you trim everything down to the base of the plant, you lose this natural support system.

Lastly, cutting back plants prematurely in late fall can sometimes encourage new growth during a warm spell, which is vulnerable to being damaged by hard frosts. It's a general rule to let the plant rest naturally and allow it to conserve its energy for the next spring.

Creating Habitat for Wildlife

Beyond promoting healthy growth, leaving certain perennials intact throughout the winter months also provides vital habitat for local wildlife. Perennials like bee balm (Monarda spp.) and anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) offer refuge to beneficial insects, including solitary bees, which overwinter in the hollow stems. Native plants like oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) and mock oranges (Philadelphus spp.) can also provide nesting spaces and shelter for small mammals and birds seeking protection from the cold weather.

These stems, seed pods, and flower buds are essential for local wildlife, which often uses plant debris to build nests and find food in the winter landscape. Birds, for example, rely on the seed heads of plants like globe thistle (Echinops spp.) and purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) to sustain them through the colder months. By allowing some dead foliage to remain in your garden, you are contributing to the survival of these species and supporting a thriving ecosystem in your yard.

Managing Plant Health

Another important reason to avoid cutting back certain plants in the fall is to prevent fungal diseases like powdery mildew from spreading. While removing diseased leaves and stems from plants like phlox paniculata and peonies can reduce the risk of disease, not all perennials are best served by fall pruning. Removing the old foliage of evergreen perennials like moss phlox (Phlox subulata) or tender plants like hardy geraniums (Geranium spp.) could expose them to cold weather damage, weakening their ability to bounce back in the following spring.

Instead, it's often better to wait until late winter or early spring before you cut down old stems or dead foliage. By that time, any fungal spores that may have lingered over the winter months will have died off, reducing the risk of reinfection in the next year’s new growth.

Enhancing Winter Interest

Grasses that weren't cut back in the fall covered in snow

If you're concerned about the appearance of your garden beds during the winter, there’s no need to worry. Many perennial plants offer significant winter interest and can add beauty to an otherwise drab winter landscape. Ornamental grasses like feather reed grass (Calamagrostis acutiflora) and perennial plants like red-hot poker (Kniphofia uvaria) create striking silhouettes when left standing through the winter months. Their seed heads and old stems, dusted with frost or snow, can give your garden a magical, serene quality.

Leaving plants up in the winter also creates texture and depth in the garden, offering a sense of continuity between seasons. Instead of a barren landscape, you’ll have tall grasses swaying in the breeze and seed heads catching the light—keeping your garden interesting long after the first frost.

Perennials that You Can Leave Standing Through Winter

So, which perennials should you leave alone during your fall clean-up? Here’s a look at some hardy perennials that can benefit from being left standing through early winter and into early spring:

You Should Not Cut These Perennials Back in the Fall. Leave them be.

Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea): These native plants are well known for their spiky seed heads, which provide food for birds and beneficial insects through the winter.

Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta): These cheerful perennials provide excellent winter structure and food sources for wildlife.
Bee Balm (Monarda spp.): Leave the stems up for bees and other beneficial insects to overwinter in.
Ornamental Grasses: Feather reed grass and other ornamental grasses add texture to the winter landscape while helping to protect the base of the plant from cold weather damage.
Agastache (Agastache foeniculum): This herbaceous perennial provides seed heads that feed wildlife and stems that shelter beneficial insects.
Globe Thistle (Echinops spp.): Leave these standing for both their architectural interest and their value as a food source for birds.
Sedum (Sedum spp.): The dried flower heads of these hardy succulents provide winter interest and look great dusted with snow.
Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium spp.): This tall perennial offers a strong structure for winter gardens and its seed heads provide food for birds.
Goldenrod (Solidago spp.): Its seed heads offer food for birds and a striking silhouette against the snow.
Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.): The dried stems of this cheerful perennial offer support for next year's growth while attracting seed-eating birds.
Astilbe (Astilbe spp.): Astilbe’s feathery plumes retain their form and texture, adding elegance to the winter garden.
Penstemon (Penstemon spp.): Penstemon stems can shelter insects and its seed heads are a food source for wildlife.
Helenium (Helenium autumnale): These late bloomers provide food for birds and structure for your winter garden.
Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia): The silvery stems and seed heads of Russian sage provide winter interest and protect the plant's base from the cold.
Milkweed (Asclepias spp.): A valuable native plant, milkweed's seed pods provide food and habitat for birds and insects through the winter.
Liatris (Liatris spicata): Its stalks offer winter structure and seed heads that are attractive to birds.
Blanket Flower (Gaillardia spp.): Leave the old stems and seed heads for a splash of color and to support wildlife through the winter.
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): Yarrow’s flower stalks add texture to the winter landscape and its stems can shelter insects.
Hardy Hibiscus: I love the look of the strong sturdy stems skyrocketing out of the garden when not much else is. I never cut these stems completely to the ground. In early spring, I cut them about 6-12" about the ground to help support future growth. These plants leaf out so well that you don't see the dead stems hiding underneath.

Exceptions to the Rule

Diseased Plant Should be Cut Back in the Fall

While leaving perennials standing can be beneficial for many plants and wildlife, there are some exceptions. Diseased plants, such as those affected by powdery mildew or plants with fungal diseases, should have their stems and foliage removed in the fall. This helps prevent the spread of disease to new growth in the following season. Plants like garden mums (Chrysanthemum spp.) and shasta daisies (Leucanthemum x superbum) can also be prone to rotting if dead stems are left intact, so it’s a good idea to cut them back once they’ve experienced hard frosts.

Peonies should also be cut back in the fall once their foliage begins to decline after the first frost. The main reason is that peony foliage is prone to developing powdery mildew and other fungal diseases, which can spread if the plant debris is left in the garden beds over the winter months.

At my flower farm, we grow over 150 peonies, so we understand the importance of proper fall clean-up to ensure healthy growth in the following year. Cutting back peonies to just above the base of the plant is essential for keeping the plants disease-free and promoting robust, healthy foliage and flowers in the spring.

By removing the old foliage and stems, you’re reducing the chances of fungal spores overwintering on the plant, which can negatively impact the new growth next year. With peonies, a clean cut at the right time of year sets the stage for a bountiful bloom during the next growing season.

Dispose of this foliage. Never put diseased foliage in your compost pile. Diseases can persist and spread in compost if high temperatures aren't achieved. It is best not to take a gamble with your compost and properly dispose of any foliage that might carry disease.

Timing Your Pruning

As a general rule, if you’re planning to prune, it’s best to wait until late winter or early spring—right before new growth starts to emerge. At that time of year, you can remove dead stems, flower stalks, and old wood from perennials like japanese anemones (Anemone hupehensis) and oakleaf hydrangeas. Using clean, sharp hedge clippers or pruners, make a clean cut above the basal leaves (the leaves at the bottom of the plant), ensuring that you don't damage the plant's new growth.

The late spring and early summer seasons are the best time to assess whether any old stems need to be removed to encourage healthy foliage and strong flower buds. By this point, it’s clear which stems are no longer needed to support the plant’s structure, and you can give the garden a tidy look without sacrificing its long-term health.

Wrapping Up

Nicole Dillon and Family enjoying the Fall

Fall clean-up is a great time to remove dead leaves and plant debris from your garden beds, but it’s important to know when to stop and leave certain perennials standing. By giving wildlife a refuge, promoting healthy growth, and enhancing your winter landscape, you’re setting your garden up for success in the following year.

If you're unsure which plants in your garden should be left alone and which should be pruned, consider scheduling a consultation with a garden consultant. Through my consulting services, I can help you create a garden that supports beneficial insects and local wildlife while maintaining healthy, vibrant perennial beds year-round. Together, we’ll design a sustainable garden that thrives from the first frost of fall through the last frost of spring. For more information, check out my Your Garden Pathway services, where I offer expert advice tailored to your garden’s unique needs.

Keep blooming!

Nicole Dillon

Owner of Breemar Flower Farm | Founder of Your Garden Pathway | Ashland, VA | Zone 7b

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You Should Not Cut These Perennials Back in the Fall