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Scarlet swamp hibiscus
The seedpods of scarlet swamp hibiscus stand tall and add striking texture to a perennial bed through fall and winter.
Photo by Amy Dabbs
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Bee balm
Dried bee balm seedheads add interest to a winter garden and provide seeds for birds.
Photo by Amy Dabbs
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River oats
Dried river oats seeds make a pleasant rustling noise in the breeze and provide nesting material for birds.
Photo by Amy Dabbs
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Black-eyed Susans
After their blooms have faded and petals dropped, the drying seedheads of black-eyed Susans are still beautiful in garden beds or cut to use in indoor arrangements.
Photo by Amy Dabbs
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Frosty sweetgrass
Leave the foliage of native grasses, like sweetgrass, intact until early spring, then rake out dead foliage when you see new growth emerging.
Photo by Amy Dabbs
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Handy garden knife
A kitchen knife that is no longer used for cooking purposes—such as this old butcher knife—can be a great help in the garden. When sharpened, it efficiently divides the root balls of perennials.
Photo by Amy Dabbs
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Mattox tool
The dual edges of a mattox are ideal both for cleaning debris out of bedding areas and for planting new flowers and herbs in the spring.
Photo by Amy Dabbs
While much of your garden lies dormant in the winter landscape, there are still plenty of chores to tackle in perennial gardens—among them, what to cut back now and what to leave until spring.
The urge to march into flowerbeds and borders with hedge trimmers and weed whackers after the first frost seems irresistible to many gardeners. But there are good reasons to wait. Cutting all your perennials down to the ground at once can leave a boring and barren winter landscape. Some perennials still offer winter interest and value to wildlife. Others lack cold hardiness, so early pruning could lead to winter damage.
What to leave in, what to take out
Herbaceous perennials, such as cannas, hostas and ginger lilies, are often the first to succumb to freezing temperatures. Feel free to tidy up their mushy leaves immediately. However, many ornamental grasses and seed-producing perennials offer beautiful winter interest even after their flowers fade. The multi-sectioned and textured seedpods of scarlet swamp hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) and swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) persist long after the flowers are gone. If you hold off cutting the stems back until early spring, you get to enjoy their strong, vertical shape in the garden longer. The dried stalks and seedheads of purple coneflower, spike gayfeather, bee balm and Black-eyed Susan add winter interest to your garden, and their seeds provide food for overwintering songbirds.
If you have native grasses, like sweetgrass, switchgrass and upland river oats, leave the seeds and dried leaves as food and nesting material for birds. I love the sound that dried seeds of upland river oats make, rustling in the wind. To fully enjoy their music, wait until spring to cut the foliage back to just above the crown. By early spring, the birds have nibbled nearly all the seeds from switchgrass, making it a good time to cut the foliage to the crown with sharp trimmers. Rather than cutting sweetgrass, try combing out the dead foliage with a gloved hand or a rake in the spring as new growth emerges.
Large, vigorously growing non-native grasses, like feather reed grass, Chinese silver grass and fountain grass, can be cut back to the ground anytime during winter or as soon as new growth emerges. These tough grasses have sharp-edged leaves, so wear long sleeves and eye protection. Binding the foliage with a bungee cord, belt or duct tape can make both cutting and cleanup easier. Winter is also a good time to dig and divide these large grasses, since they tend to die out in the center after several years.
Some perennials depend on the previous season’s growth to protect their crowns through winter. Wait until new growth appears in the spring to cut back woody subshrubs like butterfly bush, lantana and Russian sage. Mulching their crowns can protect against temperature drops in late winter and early spring.
Evergreen perennials and groundcovers look good through winter with just a top-dressing of mulch. Remove any bedraggled foliage from evergreen holly ferns, autumn ferns and cast-iron plant to keep them looking neat. These tough perennials can also be dug and divided in late winter or early spring.
Liriope, a common evergreen border perennial, tends to look worn out by the end of the year. Since it sends out new growth as early as January, now is the time to cut it back with the lawn mower to 2 inches high, so it will look its best in the new year.
Sharpen those tools
One chore gardeners often ignore is keeping their cutting and pruning tools clean and sharp to avoid damage or injury. Winter is a great time to gather your favorite garden tools and head to the hardware store to have them sharpened.
Bypass loppers are second on my list of favorite pruning tools, after hand pruners. Their long handles let me reach high branches or low perennials with ease. To sharpen them properly, the blades have to be taken apart, but the result is well worth it. If you cannot cut a branch easily without applying extra leverage, you probably need a bigger tool, such as a pruning saw.
For dividing perennials, nothing tops a sharp knife to slice cleanly through root balls. Many years ago, I acquired my great-grandmother’s “chicken-killing knife,” a formidable butcher knife with a long history of providing Sunday dinner. Since I don't have chickens, I repurposed it for gardening. A quick turn on the grinder left it sharper than ever and ready to divide daylilies, ferns and grasses.
While my husband prefers to clear weeds and brush with the machete, I like the chopping blade of the short-handled, double-sided mattock tool. I use it for cleaning out weeds, removing unwanted plants, and planting annuals and herbs. Both are now sharpened to make our weeding, planting and clearing easier in the coming months.
AMY L. DABBS is an area horticulture agent for Clemson Extension based in Charleston County. Contact her at adabbs@clemson.edu.