[Stone]

I'm guessing that my lillies are done for the season. Should I start cutting back all the leaves, etc., from my beds?


can this lavendar plant be saved:


The lemongrass looks almost ready:

[Rail Paul]

In the Hudson Valley area, you should be able to get several seasons from lavender. I usually cut mine back around the first forecast frost. A lot depends on the altitude of your property, and how sheltered the planting area is. In your case, if the forecast overnight temperatures will be in the low 40s during an upcoming week, figure there's a good chance of frost.

Your local garden center should be able to give you a general idea of when to expect your first frost, and which areas get hit earliest.

The tomatoes are about done by us, squash and eggplant has another few weeks to go. I picked the last few peppers this week

[GG Mora]

I usually wait until stuff is a little more dead, like late October. HOWEVER: DO NOT CUT BACK YOUR LAVENDER IN THE FALL. Wait until it starts showing new growth in the spring, then cut back the dead wood to the new growth.

Lavender took a bum season last winter here in the northeast; lack of snow early on meant the plants were subject to more freeze than they like & a lot of them either died or ended up looking like yours. If we don't get snow before it starts to get very cold, I'm going to mulch my lavender with straw, and would recommend the same to anyone else.

[omnivorette]

I'm going to cut stuff back this weekend and also in a couple of weeks, and mulch with black cedar mulch (because I have a lot of it).

What to do about roses and peonies? Last year I waited until spring to cut the dead stuff off of the hydrangeas and that was very successful.

[joiei]

I cut back the tomatoes that were in pots on my terrace last night. Today I will be replacing them with pansies for the winter.

[Jaymes]

I'm guessing that my lillies are done for the season. Should I start cutting back all the leaves, etc., from my beds?

I'm not a gardening guru, but I've always heard that you're supposed to let the foliage from bulbs die and disintegrate naturally because they continue to fertilize the bulbs to ensure good growth the next season.

I'd suggest that you do a little research before you cut them back.

[rancho_gordo]

I'm guessing that my lillies are done for the season. Should I start cutting back all the leaves, etc., from my beds?

I'm not a gardening guru, but I've always heard that you're supposed to let the foliage from bulbs die and disintegrate naturally because they continue to fertilize the bulbs to ensure good growth the next season.

I'd suggest that you do a little research before you cut them back.

I think Jaymes is right here. We never cut ours back and they come back every year despite abuse and neglect.
Cut the lavender back hard next Spring after danger of frost has passed. The cutting encourages new growth which you don't want to get frozen.

[Stone]

But it's so messy.

How do I harvest lemongrass? Pull the whole celery-like stalk out of the ground and separate the shoots?

[GG Mora]

I'm guessing that my lillies are done for the season. Should I start cutting back all the leaves, etc., from my beds?

I'm not a gardening guru, but I've always heard that you're supposed to let the foliage from bulbs die and disintegrate naturally because they continue to fertilize the bulbs to ensure good growth the next season.

I'd suggest that you do a little research before you cut them back.

I think Jaymes is right here. We never cut ours back and they come back every year despite abuse and neglect.
Cut the lavender back hard next Spring after danger of frost has passed. The cutting encourages new growth which you don't want to get frozen.

That advice is more specific to plants that grow from bulbs: tulips, daffodils, oriental lilies, alliums. BUT, it applies to some degree to any flowering perennials, in that the foliage nourishes the whole plant; by cutting back late or not at all, you leave the root system well fed and healthy, which will give the plant an advantage surviving its dormant period and strength for when it grows again in the spring. Cutting back is really a matter of tidiness, sometimes a matter of hygiene (dead, rotting leaves can harbor molds, fungi and blights that might spread to the plants).

By the way, daylilies (which is what are pictured here) grow from a tangled root system, not from bulbs or tubers.

[Stone]

By the way, daylilies (which is what are pictured here) grow from a tangled root system, not from bulbs or tubers.

Does that mean I can cut all this back?

What about Black Eyed Susans and Echinecia?

[GG Mora]

By the way, daylilies (which is what are pictured here) grow from a tangled root system, not from bulbs or tubers.

Does that mean I can cut all this back?

What about Black Eyed Susans and Echinecia?

Yes, yes, and yes.

[Stone]

Thank you.

[Abbylovi]

I usually wait until stuff is a little more dead, like late October. HOWEVER: DO NOT CUT BACK YOUR LAVENDER IN THE FALL. Wait until it starts showing new growth in the spring, then cut back the dead wood to the new growth.

Lavender took a bum season last winter here in the northeast; lack of snow early on meant the plants were subject to more freeze than they like & a lot of them either died or ended up looking like yours. If we don't get snow before it starts to get very cold, I'm going to mulch my lavender with straw, and would recommend the same to anyone else.

I completely neglected my lavender last year, left it for dead outside and this year it came back with a vengeance. I pretty much did what GG recommended -- in the spring when it started showing new growth, I pruned out the really dead stuff.

I have to figure out something to do with lavender.

[GG Mora]

I usually wait until stuff is a little more dead, like late October. HOWEVER: DO NOT CUT BACK YOUR LAVENDER IN THE FALL. Wait until it starts showing new growth in the spring, then cut back the dead wood to the new growth.

Lavender took a bum season last winter here in the northeast; lack of snow early on meant the plants were subject to more freeze than they like & a lot of them either died or ended up looking like yours. If we don't get snow before it starts to get very cold, I'm going to mulch my lavender with straw, and would recommend the same to anyone else.

I completely neglected my lavender last year, left it for dead outside and this year it came back with a vengeance. I pretty much did what GG recommended -- in the spring when it started showing new growth, I pruned out the really dead stuff.

I have to figure out something to do with lavender.

Whenever you walk by, bend down and scruff the plants with both hands. Spend the next hour or so sniffing the delicious smell from your hands. Repeat as necessary.

[Stone]

Is there any way to getting the lavendar back to a nice, tight, little bush?