How do I get my garden ready for fall/winter?

[Flaxbee]

I planted a pollinator garden at the side of the house this spring - it hasn't thrived, but it's still there and I"m hopeful next spring it will bloom and grow with vigor.

But I have to help them get through to next spring.

I'm new at this, and have no clue how to best prepare these perennials to overwinter.

I'm in zone 6b. I have planted lantana, tickweed, bee balm, coneflower, salvia, yarrow, phlox, catmint and some verbena groundcover.

I really want them to survive. Help!

[Curmudgeoness]

1. This is probably not the right answer

but I am also in 6b and I have many of the same perennials, and I don't do anything. They survive the winter without any problem or work. And they thrive.

The only thing that I worry about is weeds, and that is usually something I worry about when spring gets here.

[Flaxbee]

2. Huh. Was wondering if should put down an extra layer of bark for the root, or something?

I know they're OK for this area and probably will make it on their own - but if I can baby them a bit, I will

Curmudgeoness!

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Hi, Flaxbee.

Those plants are all hardy and many are native to the area, and they should make it just fine. If you want to baby them, feel free. I find that putting mulches leaves on my flower gardens looks nice----and I suppose that it is beneficial too. But for me, it is just a way to dispose of all the leaves that I have from five humungous oak trees.

Good luck, whichever way you go. And if you get tired of all the work to protect the plants, don't feel guilty. And if one of them does not survive, it is too sensitive to keep anyways. At least that is how I look at it....survival of the fittest.

Then again, you probably do not want to see the mess that is my flower garden. Not the prettiest in the world, but the bees and butterflies love it. Some times of the year, I can't get near it to water the container plants located in those beds.

[Flaxbee]

4. I like the idea of gardening a lot more than the actual work of digging holes and weeding. The

placement / design is fun, but the rest of it - especially here in humid spring / summer weather - is not my biggest thrill.

I just want something that makes the bees and butterflies and hummingbirds happy - sounds like your garden does just that.

I really can't believe it's almost October -- I'll check the temperatures mid-October and go from there.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. They should be fine without doing anything special to them.

I'm in Zone 4 and I have a lot of the same plants (everything other than lantana and tickweed), I never have had to do anything and they've survived our crappy Minnesota winters with no trouble. My experience with these was that the second summer after I planted them they were doing well, and by the third summer they'd really taken off.

[Flaxbee]

6. OK, thanks. I'll toss some bark around in a few weeks

to make it look tidy and give a little extra protection ... and see what happens!

[ColumbusLib]

7. Do nothing

Leaving some top growth provides a little cover during winter. Don't mulch heavily because it can smother some plants. I recommend planting lots of hardy bulbs in October if you want to be out in the garden doing something useful! I will be doing just that.... Oh, you can lightly mulch fall- planted pansies and they can overwinter and bloom the following spring (works for me in Columbus Ohio).

[Flaxbee]

8. Thanks. Sounds easy enough.

I don't have much free space - we rent and I don't know how long we'll be here (I don't really want to be here much longer....) but I wanted to create a space for bees and butterflies that will hopefully last ...

What else, besides pansies, do you plant in the fall?

[ColumbusLib]

9. I plant lots!

Mostly perennials: planted 3 aster frikartiis the other day, and today dug up a barberry and burning bush- can't wait to buy a new, less invasive shrub for that spot tomorrow! Planted 6 or 7 day lilies from Oakes 2 weeks ago- a splurge, couldn't resist. Last year I bought a late-blooming aster at Lowe's on sale for $1.50 and planted it in early November- it did fine and is just starting to bloom now. Soon I'll plant bulbs: tulips, lilies, muscari, chinodoxa, galanthus, anemone giants. I'm addicted! Hope your living situation works out so you can enjoy more gardening. ( :

[NutmegYankee]

10. No action required. I'm barely in 6a and I do nothing.

I have the Catmint and Salvia Ost Friesland, with plenty of others. My climate is 6a/6b.

[Botany]

11. I am in the business

1) After a good frost run a weed whip over the flowers @ about 2" above
ground level.

2) lightly mulch them if you want

3) Give them a nice long drink of water

4) Forget about them till next spring

******
the lantana will not make to next year (good chance)

[XemaSab]

12. What kind of Salvia?

A lot of plants like to be cut back pretty hard in the fall, but not all Salvias.

The bee balm, yarrow, and catmint like a good hard trimming.

[Flaxbee]

13. what does that mean?

I read gardening site and books and they use terms that mean something to gardeners, but not really to novices like me.

What counts as a "hard trimming"? I'm always afraid I'm going to hurt the plants.

I don't remember what kind of salvia - I saved the tag and will check in the morning.

[XemaSab]

14. There are videos on the internets

Almost to the ground is fine for a lot of plants.

*But* there are lots of videos and instructions on YouTube for specific plants.

[Flaxbee]

15. thanks! duh - hadn't even occurred to me to look for Youtube tutorials.

Appreciate it. Now I have a whole new way to waste time. Lol.