Time for Fall Garden Cleanup?

[@brigidarios]

Thank you ❤

[@dao8805]

Such timely advice! I have been doing fall yard clean-up the past few days and was just about to cut my rudbeckia down tomorrow but now I won't after seeing this. I will leave the habitat for those beneficial insects instead :) I get carried away with cutting because I have so many peonies and always burn the foliage. And thank you for the reminder to destroy the mildewed foliage of squash plants as well as the bee balm/monarda. Your place looks great!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks so much!

[@HunnyBeeFly]

Thank you for always giving us good povs! The reds, yellows and oranges are beautiful this time of year.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

My pleasure... thanks for watching!

[@mercury_rising]

I just added sea holly to my garden! Thanks for the tip about self seeding 😊.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Most welcome!

[@lorip2109]

Great information Jason, thank you. I cut back my Hostas today, they were full of slugs. I want to plant Eryngium next year, I’ll keep in mind about them self-seeding. Your garden looks really good, Sumac tree in it’s full glory. All the best.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks Lori. Hostas and peonies were some others that are frequently mentioned by gardeners as worth defoliating early - but I haven't been the in the practice myself. I suppose it all comes down to watching what becomes an issue in your own garden and climate!

[@melfuz]

Wow..your colors are fantastic! 😊

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thank you!

[@tesswagner895]

​@FraserValleyRoseFarm I have a question but the comment section was not available. Do you fertilize your perennials in the fall after pruning?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

@tesswagner895 no, I hold off for spring on fertilizing.

[@TRguy64]

Yes, I'd love to leave most all for the spring, though back about ten years ago when an early snowfall had ended all autumn chores, everything was left as is throughout the entire winter .... mmmm, didn't work out well! The snow had insulated and prevented the ground from freezing, the mice had an absolute heyday amongst all the debris, eating the bark off the shrubs and even chewing deep into the crowns of several perennials. Then, there was the deer that spent the entire winter in my backyard eating the shrubs and pawing down to get to the bases of the perennials that remained sticking above the snow, some plants were killed due to having been completely exposed to the bitter cold. I otherwise always strip the gardens, graze them right off and all to the compost pile other than of course the shrubs and conifers. I'd otherwise need to have my yard fenced and set out many mouse feeding stations to tend during the winter. BUT, I'm not at all disagreeing with you, I feel bad for taking away the insect habitat and whatnot and really would prefer to leave until the spring, though under my conditions, those hungry critters would just win out! 😪

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Always good to hear the counterpoints - particularly to emphasize that "one size fits all" isn't great for gardening advice. One topic I didn't discuss in this video (although I've done a previous video on the topic) is that *in practice* I often do a quick chop going into winter to remove some of the bulk from my garden beds. While I know that overall there would be time savings in letting everything melt down a bit and then removing in one step in late winter, the fact is that I have a lot more time for hands-on work in the garden in fall. So any head start I can give myself in November (say) means more roses I can prune in February - and there's still plenty of stubble and material left behind in my garden beds over winter, so no guilty feelings!

[@TRguy64]

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Compost on the spot is the best natural way of it all, but dang for all those critter problems I have! Come autumn, I'm physically tired of maintaining a very large acreage yard with tons of ornamental planting and large veggie patch, would be all so nice to leave the debris up until spring! Frost arrives in mid October and then it's petal to the medal to get all cleaned before the snow flies, and it can come early here on the prairies! I just stepped outside and was greeted with the "lovely" odor of my heaping compost pile beginning to HEAT and start the process of turning green into black gold! 😊... all those plant tops, weeds and masses of rudbeckia and sea holly seeds in there as well!

[@dustyflats3832]

I have critter problems also and one that I’ve never had until last year are voles 🤬. We have to fence in everything or we’d have nothing. I generally leave most foliage and clean up heavy stuff and veg.

[@TRguy64]

@@dustyflats3832 Thankfully, I don't have voles, but a buddy had shown photos of his nursery propagation area in which the voles had stripped the bark 12 inches up the stems of this young planted out rows of Nanking cherries. In my veggie garden, though I am not quite ready to dig the carrots and beets, I must cut and remove the canopy of foliage, for the mice hide underneath and feast away, I have set baited traps, though the buggers totally prefer the sweet tasting beets over the peanut butter or bacon bits wedged in those traps. Oddly, enough, this year the number of cats in my rural acreage region have dramatically declined, I hate how they decimate the song birds, though they sure do keep the mice in check!

[@dustyflats3832]

@@TRguy64 exactly the problem we have catching voles-there is too much for them to eat yet over peanut butter. I also leave carrots in the ground and dig all winter, but I don’t know now. The cats-too many people drop them off at places along the road and the spraying they do kills plants and don’t care to step in the duty.

[@geraldinefields1730]

Thank you.

[@smedina146]

You're videos are so informative and helpful! Since I'm 8b. Lakewood, Washington, I'm able to apply your tips right away. Thank you for educating all of us. I appreciate you! Blessings to you💛🖤💛

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks so much Stacy!

[@gwbuilder5779]

Great tips Jason.👌 Of course it is always important to know what happens in your particular area as several have mentioned the troubles they have experienced. I think the "Leave It Alone" general philosophy is quite practical overall, but knowing your particular trouble spots is certainly key to every individual space.🤙

[@franceshoward7112]

There's always so much to do in spring it's nice to have one or two tidy ups done beforehand when there is a little more time instead of everything all at once.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

I hear you! I have far more time in fall than in spring, so in practice tend to cheat ahead a bit and take some of the bulk out of the garden so that the late winter cleanup is that much easier: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWPFaaSse9dnock

[@bruce-le-smith]

It was cool seeing other parts of your garden! Loved the first 5 reasons, watched them from your perspective even though they mention them all regularly on BBC Gardeners' World. And your 3 exceptions were good too. It struck me that 1 and 2 were similar if you think of bacteria\fungus as self-seeders!

[@scallywags12]

Good to know about clean up bee balm and that is on my hit list this week. Thanks!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

My pleasure

[@leeck5491]

Useful as usual. You always give great information and tips. Thanks so much.

[@tracyjin4818]

Can’t wait for your fall cleanup for roses which I’m trying to do so, mainly those with blackspot, trying to clean them as much as possible. I’m in Tsawwassen. ❤

[@alligator_pie]

❤ great info!

[@LawforFun]

Hi. Jason. It's your long time fan Bonny. I use this name to do my storytelling channel. You are doing great 🎉

[@dustyflats3832]

Yes, to cleaning up plants that reseed! Good to know about sea holly and Jupiter’s beard as I just started those two this year from seed. Add to that list garlic chives, marigolds and coneflower. And hope I don’t have to add catalpa tree beans😂 I love that tree from my youth, but we never had a garden nearby so t didn’t reseed-I have them now-oh boy! I banished poppies to the meadow. The foxgloves are looking suspicious 🤨. Blanket flower and brown eyed Susan’s are getting a bit crazy as well and sweet Williams. Rethinking of switching many to more well behave perennials and just clear the deck. For most I just leave until spring unless they are super messy. There’s so many chores to do and tonight in Wisconsin, Z5a we are getting hard freeze-hope the fall veg hold on under low tunnels as we will warm back up this week. We need rain! Thanks for sharing tips!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks for your additions to the "troublesome self-seeders" list!

[@marydrew3568]

Hi Jason! Great suggestions. I just planted Bee Balm at the end of summer and that is good to know to cut it back to prevent mildew. I decided to let my hellebores winter over with old leaves and I mulched them with leaves. I inadvertently wintered over thrips and I had a massive infestation of thrips in the spring and summer. Lesson learned for me!

[@annmroyhughes7277]

Wonderful! Thank you

[@lieslfeldman1725]

Good video. I've been convinced that leaving the roots in the ground is the way to help my heavy soil open up. There are exceptions (I'm talking to you, Monarda, you're trying to take over). We're finally into the 80s during the day here in NorCal. My Avalanche tree rose is completely covered in bloom right now. I'm also putting down seeds for the winter and spring gardens.

[@theblacksheep75]

Great video as always. I’ll have to get after my bee balm.

[@minworks1626]

Thank you for all that information. J

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

You're very welcome

[@MyFocusVaries]

Thanks for the good advice. I'm amazed that my garden is still looking great this late in the season. There's nothing ready for cleanup in the flower garden. Even a couple of my roses are sending out a few last blooms.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Totally - the amount of rain coming out of late summer seems to have been just about perfect for the garden!

[@Nickelini]

Thank you! so very helpful

[@budgetgardeningvita]

Great information. Thanks for sharing, Jason!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks so much Vita! BTW loved your video on overwintering. It's always good to hear the info someone who has experience in a colder climate than my own.

[@budgetgardeningvita]

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Thank so much! I just got a bunch of pelargoniums, canna lilies, and tuberous begonias to overwinter as our temps dip down to 31 F tonight. I love saving plants for next year! 😊

[@samueljaramillo4221]

Interesting video,thanks👍🏻

[@FeiyLo]

Thanks for sharing this great video. What's the orange-flowered plant near your right knee after 5:05?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Mirabilis - Marvel of Peru I think is the common name. Self seeded

[@FeiyLo]

Thanks for the reply. That’ looks pretty! Will it survive the winter in your garden, or do you grow it as an annual?

[@HoustonKeith72]

Thanks for the great tips!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Most welcome!

[@LifeHomeandGardenwithAnaRica]

Thank you for a great information's

[@asaliden4584]

Oh! Another question! I have a bunch of nameless roses, can you determine if it’s a bush rose, climber or rambler just on growth habit when they are just 1 year cuttings?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

It might take a little longer to fully observe the growth habits and confirm what how they'll want to grow.

[@tockalot]

Thank u so much for your advice. I need to figure out what are good companions for my rose bushes this year

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Most welcome. I'll definitely make some more recommendation for companions, but here's one of my older vids on the topic too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nV7Wmn57jcSqpc0si=4WpsQCQnx6yyeWcj

[@tockalot]

@FraserValleyRoseFarm thank u I watched it

[@Elestrial]

I also like to clean up the leaves and debris from beds that had an unwanted pest infestation going on

[@JP-zn9dw]

Rose question: I took cuttings from a climbing rose and all three took. Should I plant each separately (up pot) or plant together as one to make a bigger plant that will perform earlier? Love your channel.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

I'd go with three pots grown individually.

[@popandbob]

Another benefit not mentioned is moisture collection. Tall or leafy plants left over winter will condense moisture on foggy mornings, and capture rain/snow directing it down into your garden beds. I’ve seen this in action the past couple years in Alberta where farmers who left fields bare had hardly any snow cover, fields with stubble had ok snow cover, then there is my tree farm which had 3-4’ snow drifts because I had the only vertical barrier for a couple miles. I had snow melting into the soil 2-3 weeks longer than stubble fields and a full month longer than bare fields.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks - another great point!

[@asaliden4584]

Hi Jason! I’ve had a terrible year with powdery mildew, thrips and every other pest I don’t know the English name of. 😖 Up on that was the compost I use as mulch littered with tomato seeds so I have pulled hundreds of seedlings, saved a couple of different varieties (9!!) and had a nice green backdrop in my borders. My question is about powdery mildew. I always thought it showed up as a result of poor air circulation and a moist but recently read that it’s a sign of lack of water? Or irregular watering? (Guilty of that) Which one is it? I must invest in drip irrigation next season, I can’t spend hours and hours on watering every day in different borders, this year my garden grew too much to handle that. I have a small exquisite back yard nursery with a botanical garden for inspiration and grow my plants in the ground instead of plastic pots thanks to an interview you had here on KZbin with a Canadian nursery. So I really want to thank you for that! 😊 But that means over 100 meters of borders and a big veggie garden, a total of 298 perennials, bushes and trees except annuals (not everything for sale yet). So all these pests I’ve had this hot, windy and dry summer has been a real challenge. (Sorry. Over sharing. My ADHD in control. 😂🤪)

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Yes, powdery mildew can be a sign of moisture stress - which could be brought on by either one: an overall lack of watering or just inconsistent watering.

[@dlyon7535]

As always Jason you are spot on with timely advice. It’s much appreciated. I am a zone 3b gardener and have always left the pruning of my hellebores and panicle hydrangeas until the spring. However, what you say makes sense even for zone 3b. Am I correct?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

I think so. By fall all the foliage of my hellebores is in poor condition, and I don't want to carry over the leaf spot problems from year to year. They get little benefit from the leaves by this point, so a preemptive removal makes sense in my view.

[@storybookfloralproductions]

great one Jason! I had a terrible terrible terrible thrip infestation this year. Is it still a good idea to leave perennials alone? I thought perhaps I should make the entire garden look naked for the winter. Thank you!

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

It's pretty tough to exclude or eliminate thrips - the influx from the surrounding environment can be overwhelming at times. It's overall probably a safer bet to encourage/support beneficial insect populations by having diverse plantings and to some degree maintaining overwintering habitat as discussed in this video.

[@jow-ml5wr]

I love your videos and have learned a lot. My roses love you!! 😂 I had a question though, I am trying to start a small nursery that will start from just home but hope to build. I am doing this all on my own as a long term help for retirement. Because we are a small community and I feel I need to go with vegetables mostly with roses & and smaller amount of landscaping plants. Finally to my question due you have videos more in this direction or know anyone that I might watch that would give good advice. There are just so many that are just content not really truth or actually doing the growing.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks. Yes, I have a playlist of videos on starting a nursery business: kzbin.info/aero/PLQR908v3CexxzNUhYmX8IEGdGLZpQIHQQ Other good channels that you might find helpful: Savvy Dirt Farmer, Growing Our Retirement and Budget Gardening with Vida Loca

[@jow-ml5wr]

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm Thank you!

[@kikks461]

Very helpful, thank you. Also, are those your blueberries?💙

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Thanks. No, the big field of blueberries belongs to a neighbor. Ours is a much more modest patch of 10 plants - but still plenty for the family

[@tracyngng]

Hi Jason, i love your videos and learn alot from them. Question: how far would you recommend to plant roses from big trees like oaks and crape myrtles? I’m planning to build flower bed along the fences and put down some mature roses, but i’m concerned about the neighbors trees. Thank you

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Crape myrtles are less an issue - the roots are far less aggressive, and you might be able to plant within 10ft of the trunk or so. With the oaks you'll have to do some exploratory digging to see how much an issue there is with roots - but if you can get a decent planting hole in the range of 18" wide without encountering heavy root congestion, you may be okay.

[@tracyngng]

@@FraserValleyRoseFarm thanks alot. I appreciate your advice

[@KathyToffan]

Hi Jason. I live in Nanaimo and have three young Macrophylla Hydrangeas. Is there any benefit in covering them in the winter.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Hi Kathy. I doubt it would be necessary in Nanaimo for Macrophyllas planted in the ground. That said, I did have a young hydrangea in the ground last winter that I was worried about because of its small size. When we had that one week of deep cold, I covered it temporarily (and very last minute!) with a large nursery pot just to cut down the effects of the cold wind. Removed it after the cold. I can't say it was strictly necessary, as macs are hardy to zone 5 once established, but it made me feel better to offer just a little shelter during the coldest weather.

[@marisakirisame2366]

Are there any roses that have good fall foliage specifically?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Not a lot - I do see a color transition through yellow on my r. rugosa hybrids, but the fruit are by far more interesting. R. glauca can put on a bit of a show. The hardy Canadian roses (like John Davis, Therese Bugnet) are also sometimes showy in fall, but it's not super consistent.

[@MickF04]

Don't the rose hips also push the rose shrub into dormancy?

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

In a manner yes. It might be more on point to say it in the reverse - removal of the rose hips may encourage the rose to attempt fresh growth if the temperatures are still warm enough.

[@andrewjames6676]

Thanks Jason. Try telling my houseproud wife!

[@BBlakeLawFirm]

Hi Jason, I have been your fan since 2020. Over the years, I have seen your channel grow to now many fans. You are an example to encourage me to pursue my dreams. Now I have a KZbin channel "LawforFun". I am very new, and now have only 31 subscribers. But I want to learn from you to stick to my goal, and do honestly and not just please the audience. Thank you.

[@FraserValleyRoseFarm]

Wonderful to hear! I wish you all the best with your channel Bonny