According to a tried and tested farmer's rule, the flower bed - like the rest of the garden - must be prepared for winter by October 21st. If it gets cold earlier, the corresponding autumn work should be brought forward. These tasks await you so that the flowerbed will continue to bloom lushly next year.
How do I properly prepare my flower bed in autumn?
In the fall, prepare your flower bed for winter by cutting back shrubs and certain perennials, planting bulbs, removing weeds, and caring for the soil. Make sure not to cut roses and hydrangeas until spring.
Pruning shrubs and perennials
What exactly needs to be cut in autumn and what doesn't is quite complicated. That's why you'll find a quick overview here:
- Shrubs and other trees should generally be cut back.
- Exceptions: roses and hydrangeas, these are only cut in spring
- You should not cut perennials and hardy grasses
- Here the withered leaves serve as winter protection and are only removed in spring.
- Exceptions: Short-lived perennials such as girl's eye, cockade flower, chamomile and coneflower (Echinacea)
- Here, their lifespan can be extended by a courageous autumn pruning.
- Cut these perennials just above the ground in early fall.
However, the specific cutting rules and times differ from species to species, which is why you should always take a close look at the plant label. You can usually find relevant information here.
Planting flower bulbs and other plants
Autumn is not only the time of preparing for winter, it is also the time of planting. The bulbs of spring bloomers such as tulips and daffodils are now put into the ground, and many perennials, shrubs and trees are best planted in early autumn. At this point the ground is still warm and the plants are no longer focused on growing shoots and forming flowers and seeds. Now you can instead concentrate on rooting in time for winter. However, you do not have to take out enough hardy plants and dahlia tubers and put them in the winter quarters.
Weed removal and soil care
Once all of this work has been done, the final touches are put to the flower bed. Pull existing weeds – be careful, don’t hoe! In this way you only damage the roots of the perennials and shrubs - and carefully loosen the ground cover. This is particularly important for heavy, clayey soils so that they are aerated. Sandy soils, on the other hand, are better left alone. Then mulch the soil, for example with brushwood, straw or leaves.
Tip
Roses in the flower bed should be piled up, standard roses should even be packed frost-proof with jute (€12.00 on Amazon) or garden fleece.
