In late autumn, many hobby gardeners put their kingdom into hibernation. These five expert tips will help.

One might think that the best days in the garden are over. But for hobby gardeners who like to tackle things, dig and work with secateurs, now is a good time: the garden needs your care, even your protection. This is to do:

1. Dig up bulbs and tubers

Summery and frost-sensitive onions and bulbs like the dahlia belong in winter storage from around three degrees. Dig up the bulbs and tubers, roughly remove the soil and cut off the stalks to two inches. Then the flowers can survive the winter in a container with slightly damp sand in a frost-free place.

2. Trim hedges

Hedges may only be brought into shape over the spring and summer, but not removed, renewed or severely cut back. This is to protect nesting birds and other animals using the hedges.

According to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, this will be allowed again from October 1st. But if you want hedgehogs, wrens and the like to continue doing something good, pile up the hedge clippings, brushwood and other dead wood in a corner of the garden as a place to overwinter.

3. Cut back perennials – or not

Opinions differ on this tip: Many people like to tidy up the garden in autumn and therefore also cut back the faded and partly brown perennials. Conservationists, on the other hand, advise against doing this.

Melanie Konrad from the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU), for example, recommends leaving the garden largely alone in autumn. And don’t cut back perennials before spring, because insects and their eggs overwinter on and in the plants.

What do the gardeners say? In principle, perennials do not have to be cut back, they will sprout again in spring anyway, says Almut Eilers from the Garden Academy of the Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture.

She only advises removing the above-ground parts in three cases: Firstly, it is worth pruning some perennials such as delphinium, lady’s mantle and sage directly after the respective flowering in (late) summer to encourage a second flowering. Secondly, a complete pruning makes sense if plants are heavily infested with lice or fungi.

And thirdly, pruning prevents the perennials from spreading too much from their seeds. But NABU expert Melanie Konrad has an alternative tip for this: “In order to prevent proliferating perennials such as the columbine from spreading too much, it is enough to just cut out the seed heads.”

If you still want to cut off the plants that are turning brown in autumn for aesthetic reasons, Almut Eilers advises you to only do this with flowering perennials. Evergreen leaf shrubs and grasses are so-called structure givers for the garden even in winter – and also a beautiful sight. Especially if they are covered with hoarfrost.

In addition, with their still dense structures, they offer shelter and food to many animals. Almut Eilers recommends also leaving yarrow, ragweed, stonecrop and nettle standing.

4. Utilize leaves

Falling leaves need to be removed from some areas in the garden: especially lawns, as the grass underneath can rot. Even evergreen perennials can suffer from too thick a layer of leaves.

Otherwise, however, it is worth leaving the leaves on beds and under hedges or deliberately bringing them there. “Leaves are there by nature to cover the ground. They protect the subsoil from erosion,” says NABU expert Melanie Konrad. And they are a winter protection for sensitive plants as well as a material full of important nutrients that serve as food for many animals and contribute to the formation of humus in the soil.

5. Clean up potted plants

Tub plants that are not hardy need frost protection. But you shouldn’t put them in the heated living room, only in a cool place. If you don’t have a frost-free greenhouse or cool conservatory, you can switch to a garage or basement. Those who cannot offer this should protect the plants with fleece and brushwood.

(This article was first published on Saturday, October 15, 2022.)