When??? Fall or spring...

I know there are many different times to do your transplanting but when do you mostly do yours? Fall or spring?? What are you all doing to make your beds ready for next year?? What do you do in the fall to protect things?? Cut stuff down, mulch??

Just curious to know how you all do your preparation for the next year??

I prefer to transplant in spring unless the plant is an ealy spring bloomer. (I will transplant at most ant time.)

I like to spread any compost or near compost on the soil which also makes room for leaves in my compost piles. I mound some dirt on my more vulnerable roses and cut back and clean up my beds except for a few plants with winter interest. I leave the leaves in my garden beds until spring.

I've transplanted in both seasons. I think it depends on the plant. I do the lilies, echinacea, rudbeckia and irises in early fall.

Dawn,
there are a lot of things you should do to get your garden ready for winter. I just gave a talk last weekend at the garden center where I work, on winter prep. and I'm going to post the outline of it here for you. I think it will answer most of your questions. Let me know if you don't understand anything.
Terre

Preparing the Perennial Garden for Winter
•General Cleanup Guidelines
o Cleanup should include raking up fallen debris, cutting back dead foliage and doing a thorough weeding
o Rainy year = abundant disease and insect problems
 Disease spores and insects often overwinter on leaves and stems
o Do not compost diseased material
 Spores can withstand extremely high temperatures
•Amending the soil
o Now is a good time to get soil tested
o Topdress existing beds with compost
o Dig compost into new beds half and half with soil
o When planting bulbs, add fertilizer directly into planting hole
 Phosphate doesn’t move down through soil
•Cutting back perennials
o Timing
 Wait until several hard frosts have occurred (mid- to late October)
 Plants should be fully dormant before being trimmed
o Herbaceous plants can be cut back fully
 Leave 1-2 inches above ground
• Helps locate plant in spring
• Prevents damage to crown and buds for next year’s growth
o Some plants don’t need trimming
 Ajuga, Arabis, Armeria, Aubrieta*, Aurinia*, Bergenia, Cerastium, Corydalis, Dianthus, Epimedium, Helianthemum, Helleborus, Iberis*, Lamium, Lavender*, Liriope, Origanum, Creeping Phlox, Primula, Pulmonaria, Sagina, Saxifraga, Creeping Sedums, Sempervivums, Teucrium*, Thymus, Viola.(*denotes plants that may be sheared immediately after blooming, to shape)
o Some plants do better if basal rosettes are left on to protect crowns
 Achillea, Silver Mound Artemisia, Aster, Coreopsis, Digitalis, Erigeron, Fragaria, Gaillardia, Geum, Heuchera, Heucherella, Iris Germanica, Kniphofia, Leucanthemum, Papaver orientalis, Penstemon, Polemonium, Potentilla, Salvia, Scabiosa, Stachys, Tiarella, Verbascum
o Plants with woody bases require a slightly different approach
 Buddleia, Caryopteris, Erysimum, Hypericum, Lavatera, Perovskia, Santolina
• leave until spring, then cut down to 6 inches
 Hardy Hibiscus
• cut down to about 4-6 inches in fall
o Ornamental Grasses
 May be cut down to 1-2 inches now or left standing until spring
• Uncut grasses provide winter interest
• Seedheads are a good winter food source for birds
•Dividing perennials
o General rule of thumb-spring and summer bloomers should be divided now, leave fall bloomers alone until spring
 Exceptions
• Monarda-best to divide in spring
• Oriental Poppies-move/divide in August
• True lilies (not Daylilies)-mid- to late fall
• Iris-move/divide in July or August
o Ornamental Grasses
 Warm-season
• Leave until late winter or early spring
o Miscanthus, Pennisetum, Panicum, Hakonechloa, Imperata, Molinia
 Cool-season
• Divide in fall, winter or early spring
o Calamagrostis, Festuca, Helictotrichon
o Continue watering until ground freezes in late Nov. or early Dec.
•Winter mulch
o Purpose of mulch
 keep ground frozen
• Protect plants from heaving due to freeze-thaw cycles
• Prevent re-growth during thaws
 Provide nutrients to plants as it breaks down
o Timing
 Apply after ground has frozen solid (late Nov., early Dec.)
o How much to use
 No more than 2 to 3 inches
 If using straw or hay, start with 4 to 5 inches, as it will pack down
o What to use depends on:
 Location
• Bark chips tend to migrate down slopes during heavy rains
• In windy areas, use heavy material
o Avoid peanut shells, cocoa hulls
 What you want it to do
• Protection only
o Straw, evergreen boughs, peanut shells, cocoa hulls
• Protection and nutrients
o Salt hay, chopped dead leaves, pine needles, lawn clippings, lightweight bark mulch
 Personal preference
o Avoid using materials that have a smothering effect
• Newspaper, garden soil, plastic material, peat moss

Skylark, Great list! Thanks!

Skylark, I agree with Dave! By the way, checked out Churchill's - beautifully designed website!

DawnLL, we plant right up until the end of October. As for clean up, our situation is a little different than yours and I've had to change my ways since moving to Virginia. Used to be, when I lived in Maine, I cut everything back and made it look "neat" before the winter - but that was when we had plenty of snow cover for an insulating blanket. Here in Virginia, we rarely cut things back hard - leaving the foliage as a little extra insulation for the plants and then clean them up in the spring. Not sure of your zone but assuming that far north you'd have plenty of insulation over the winter? Remember traveling through Sudbury on a family trip from Maine to Michigan years and years ago :)

Debbie

I am a zone 4 I believe...we have already had several hard frosts. I haven't cut anything as of yet but I think I will cut back some of the plants this weekend. They look dormant right now that is for sure.

Lots of people seem to go right "through" Sudbury to get to somewhere else LOL It is a great place to live though and visit too! Our big lakes and forest areas are wonderful for hunting, camping etc..... In the winter we have great snowmobile trails too :)

Oh and skylark thank you so much for your post....I really learned a lot. I appreciate it :)

I don't cut back in the fall except for annuals and diseased plants or plants that I really don't want to reseed. I like having the seeds available for the birds, and we often have goldfinches and various sparrows in the front garden feeding. I like the look of many of the seedheads above the snow. I find that having more plant parts sticking up helps hold the snow around the plants in windy areas and prevents desication. Cutting back before sprouting, but after the freeze-thaw cycles are done is one of my spring chores.

I try to do any transplanting in the spring. That way the plant has enough time before winter to become fairly well established. Plus, I like to make use of the spring rains to help get the plant settled into it's new spot.

In the fall I cover all my plants with leaves. It helps to insulate them, and so far I haven't lost any plants to the cold weather (although I will lose my rosemary if I don't get it potted up and inside soon).