What to Do with Plants at the End of the Season
Here it comes. The end of the season. Time to roll up your sleeves and take on those necessary tasks to get your garden cleaned up while the weather stays pleasant. To help you stay organized and on task when the gardening season is over, create a garden to-do list:
1. Tackle those weeds one last time for a clean slate for fall.
2. Rake up any leaf debris. You can either bag them for removal or scatter them around the base of your shrubs as a natural mulch. Beneficial bugs and microbes use it as a food source and shelter during winter.
3. If you have perennial flowers, cut them back a few inches from the ground and they’ll come back next year.
4. As for annuals, like Beacon® Impatiens, they’re annuals and won’t come back next growing season. You’ll need to pull them up, including the roots. You can start a compost pile with these beautifully spent plants.
5. Speaking of compost, use only healthy plant material to add to your pile. Avoid any plants with disease, or anything that has encountered pests.
6. Wash and store your garden tools and patio containers, so they’re in good shape the next time you need them. And, if you live in an area of prolonged frost, detach your garden hose to avoid bursts and tears.
Plant Rx Alert: It’s very important to either throw away or destroy annual plants with pests and disease. It is possible for pathogens and pests to overwinter in a compost pile, so better to be safe than sorry in this case.
Taking the time to clean out your garden once your plants stop thriving is a great step toward next year’s success. So let’s get it done. You’ll be happy you did.