No, it doesn't really matter. It depends largely on what you (or the client) prefers -- everything "nice and neat" or remnants left to catch the snow and feed the birds.

No, not a big deal in my experience.

In years past I was adamant about cleaning up all debris in the fall, diseased or not, because I kept reading over and over about overwintering spores/eggs/etc.

Well, two falls ago I got accepted into program/internship at university and between that and still working, I had no time to even think about doing yard work let alone actually doing it. Same story last year. I got my clean-up done in the spring/spring break.

Guess what? No horrible diseases wiped out my garden, didn't have any insect problem - didn't have any problems whatsoever that I'm aware of when I waited until spring to clean up.

So, I changed my tune and am now advising it's a personal preference. Now, admittedly, I do think it looks better to have all the dying foliage cleaned up over the winter, and also there are so many other (more pleasurable for me) chores to do in the spring than clean up mushy old foliage, but other than that - I noticed no difference whatsoever.

I graduated, so I'll be back to cleaning up the mess in the fall, just a preference.

Good question!

In our previous home, I always cleaned up everything in the fall. I also did a lot of cleaning as I went, with irises, daylilies and other things that needed it periodically to stay looking neat.

Now, in my new perennial garden (this year) in the new house, I have several things like agastache that I have read it's best to leave in place over the winter to protect them. Sooo, I dunno what I'll do about those. My tendency, though, is to clean.

connie~I see you're in a warmer zone, but I do indeed have to leave my agastache and Russian sage standing or I'll lose it. Other plants I leave for the birds to enjoy (coneflowers) or for winter interest (artemisia, salvia, yarrow, sedum).

After all the wet weather we have had this year, I do think it might be best to rake up the dogwood shrubs leaves, they don't look so hot. Anything that's diseased should be removed or cut back IMO.

Plants that you're likely to lose if you cut in fall, especially if you live where winters are wet:

Buddleia
Perovskia
Gaura
Western Agastaches like A. cana, rupestris, etc. and hybrids
Caryopteris
Certain Salvias like S. 'Wild Thing', 'Black Cherry', 'Ultra violet'
Zauschnerias

I cut back all perennials in the fall. Not because they have to be but I like the yard to look nice over the winter and not have any dead leaves of plants laying there. It's just a personal preference for me. I have been doing this all week here and have only my Mums left which I won't do for another month.

I do get major leaves from neighboring houses in my backyard. I mow the yard late fall to get those so they don't sit there and cause problems on my grass but the ones falling in the garden areas I leave until Spring figuring they can't hurt with winter protection. They will blow eventually into a few corners of the yard so the clean up is easier in the Spring also.
CH

This year, I had to move gaura about a month ago and all the top growth died back and it started growing from the base once it established in it's pot. I hope that won't kill them. I was so happy they made it through the winter last year.

This year, I am cleaning up as much as I can. We had more foliar problems than usual, after all the rain and cloudy weather in May and June. I just want to throw out all that stuff and start over fresh in the spring. I'm even cutting back all my echinaceas to the ground, which I usually leave up for the birds. I'll just give them extra bird seed.

I never cut back the Butterfly bushes and they always come back. Last year, I decided I didn't like the messy look of them during the winter, so I've been deadheading them like crazy and shaping them a little better as I do, so I will be more happy looking at them all winter. I also added more Snow Angel pansies this year, because the one pot I planted last fall came back great this spring. They will probably bloom another month out there and start up again in April. The mums are doing very well again and the asters are just about gone by. I've decided to add more next spring.

We leave tree leaves that fall into the beds and keep mowing the lawn until all the leaves are gone and add those to the compost pile. I also put chicken wire pieces over where I have newly planted spring bulbs, because otherwise the squirrels end up digging them up. It worked last year. I plan on tying up an arborvitae and a juniper and that about does it.

We keep filling the bird feeders and the bird baths and wait for spring.

I have a big problem with voles if I leave up too much foliage. We often have snowcover for months on end, and the perennial stems and foliage make a nice shelter for them. I have cats which take care of them spring through fall, but in winter they can't get at them under the fallen plant debris.

I am so busy in fall I often don't actually get it done before the snow comes. The beds that are cut back are usually vole free, and the ones that aren't have all the bulbs and small perennials eaten, and vole tunnels everywhere. It varies by year.

I do not need to cut everything back, I usually leave ornamental grasses and echinaceas and tender semi-woody plants as mentioned above.

I don't cut my hosta back because i think the plant needs all the energy that comes from the leaves until they die back by themselves. I do go out and collect dead leaves all winter.

I don't cut my hosta back because i think the plant needs all the energy that comes from the leaves

LOL!! If there was some way to harness it, I think hostas could be a solution to the current energy crisis! These are some of the toughest plants on the planet - I have dug, divided and chopped them back at all times of the year and for all sorts of reasons. If anything, they come back stronger and larger than ever. I'm not sure you can intentionally kill a hosta, let alone damage one by trimming back the foliage a little early or once it starts looking funky.

As to other perennials, it depends on the plant and my mood and the time available. If I don't like the way it looks in winter, I'll cut it back or clean it up. But anything with a decent appearance -- and a lot of perennials are more or less evergreen in my zone -- or if attracts wildlife (seedheads, berries, etc.), I'll leave it be. And I tend to leave fallen leaves on the beds as mulch and to decompose in place over winter, so "clean up" is relative term in my garden :-)

Gardengal, I hope you're right! About three days ago I discovered a hosta, in a bed near the driveway, that has been run over repeatedly, by the looks of it. I tell everyone to be careful of that bed, and then I was the first one to run over that hosta, lol - but I only got a few leaves on the side nearest the driveway. But now I can tell it's been flattened over and over. It's one of my favorites - and would you believe after surviving for at least five years in a pot and in the garage in the winter, planting this hosta was one of my first attempts to decrease my pot ghetto. Shoulda left the darn thing in the pot, lol. Well, keeping my fingers crossed.

How I clean up in the fall depends on how much time I have. I usually *plan* on general cutting back of dead stems (except for echinacea and sedum) and I try to mulch in December after the ground freezes. I have accepted the fact that I will never, ever rake all my leaves. Been here 15 years and still haven't finished them completely once. I shred a lot of them, but that just takes more time.

Anyway, this year I think I will try to get around to cutting back the echinacea. I have way too many new seedlings, so this year they get cut... if I get out there. Those leaves are a bit overwhelming and time consuming. An acre, a rake, and 40+ oak trees... well, you get the idea!

:)
Dee