Deadheading at the FWG The main purpose of our garden is to provide food and shelter for wildlife. Even though most plants dry out and die in the fall, they may still provide food (especially seeds) or shelter for wildlife species. Therefore, our first rule is NO deadheading, i.e., we don't cut back plant stems to "tidy" the garden for winter. Exceptions During the growing season, if a plant is going to seed and is falling over onto other still-blooming plants, then cut back the parts that are falling over. If a species is self-seeding so successfully that it becomes a nuisance, you MAY be asked to cut off the seed heads before the seeds mature. This is rare. In fall, plants with a lot of leaves that don't dry out. but will rot if left on the ground should be cut back. Example: irises. If you do have to remove seed heads or cut back broken plants, try to leave as much of the lower stems as possible, as they may still provide shelter for some creatures. Collect some ripe seeds to propagate more plants for our plant sale and for planting in other parts of the garden.

Volunteer, Andrée Bazinet, is cutting away stems of Joe-Pye Weed that have broken and fallen over. Behind the bird feeder, however, another Joe-Pye Weed plant is still standing upright and is loaded with seeds. It will be left alone to provide food for birds over the winter. Last year, we often saw chickadees picking something - possibly insect eggs - off the stems. Comments and questions welcome This page was created on 8 November 2008 © Fletcher Wildlife Garden Text: Sandy Garland Our e-mail address