What Should I Prune And Clean Up In October?
Erie, Colorado area landscapes {Monthly Series}
There are certain shrubs that definitely cannot be pruned in October. Those are the ones that have already set their blooms for next season, and some that it is just best to wait to see what grows back into our Erie Colorado landscapes after a harsh Colorado winter. Lilac, Forsythia, pretty much all Hydrangeas, Viburnum, Azalea, Rhododendron have mostly all set blooms for spring. Pruning now, prunes off next year’s flowers. For Hydrangea, go ahead and prune off the mophead or paniculata type flowers for dried arrangements, just don’t prune the entire plant back, only the flowers. Juniper, Boxwood, Privet, Arborvitae, Roses, and certainly all coniferous evergreen trees and shrubs (think needled evergreens) should not be pruned in fall. Roses are on the list, because doing so in fall creates an open wound that can make winter kill worse. Pruning Junipers, Boxwood and Privet in fall can promote new fresh growth that will be more prone to damage from cold dry winds of winter. Best to wait until spring so that the flush of fresh growth can flourish. Russian Sage and Butterfly Bush are best left until spring as well as their canes will protect the base of the plant from winterkill. They often need to be pruned back to 12” or less anyway, but wait until March 1st to do so. Finally, red and yellowtwig Dogwood should be left for their vibrant colorful stems. Prune those, if you must, in spring.
For cleanup, less is more. Get the bulk of the leaves up so they do not mat down on the grass areas. Blow them out of mulch and rock beds, but don’t be overly obsessive about it. Our Colorado winds will blow a lot of leaves around over the course of the winter. The leaves at the bases of perennials and grasses protect the plants and provide safe harbor for useful bugs and organisms that can help the soil and plants. Final cleanup should happen in March or early April at the latest as the new growth begins to emerge. So, rake leaves, blow leaves, prune back a few wayward larger stems of perennials like Penstemon, Sea Holly, Delphinium, Foxglove and Iris, but leave the rest until spring. You need a break anyway. Enjoy!
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