Rudbeckia stubs
Every fall I shake my head at landscapers rushing perennial cutback by using power shears. To avoid shredding all of the green foliage, they cut the flower stems high, leaving a nasty stub. And because they use power shears, they have to go in and clean up, which means they didn’t save any time at all. (Don’t even get me started on air and noise pollution.)
Instead, I wish they would slow down and enjoy the cutback with hand snips; this allows you to grab a hold of the stems, cut them back close to the ground, leave the green foliage unmolested, and there is no further clean up. Just dispose of the stems you’re holding in your hand.
I find this quite relaxing, even when I have to cutback a large mass of Black eyed Susans (Rudbeckias). Just make sure you can see your fingers at all times as you do the cutback.
Enter Christopher Lloyd
There is more to add to my rant. Early into Christopher Lloyd‘s book “The well tempered garden“, he writes about herbaceous perennials and how gardeners cut them back by leaving nasty stubs. They do this so they can remember the plant locations later when not much of the plants remains.
And Lloyd, the late famous English gardener, abhors this practice. That was a nice surprise because I do, too. Too bad I will never meet Mr. Lloyd. I suspect he could be my friend.
Lloyd argues that herbaceous perennials should either be cut right down level with the ground or left standing. Even dead perennials can look awesome covered in frost. See my blog post from December 4.
The problem with stubs
What’s wrong with leaving stubs? Lloyd gives us a nice list. Stubs look awful, they become hard and hollow; and they become a refuge for earwigs and woodlice. They also obstruct new growth in spring. But by far the worst is when people collecting cut flowers hit the hard stubs and stab themselves. (p.16, The well tempered garden by Christopher Lloyd)
Now you know. Start cutting back your herbaceous perennials right down without leaving nasty stubs. Use hand snips and enjoy your time in the garden. Leave your power shears in the shed.
