Best time to tidy a perennials bed - Ask Extension
I am visiting my son and his family and have some time to clean up two small perennial beds. In the next two weeks, will it good timing to prune back ...
Knowledgebase
Best time to tidy a perennials bed #925266
Asked March 02, 2026, 12:45 AM EST
I am visiting my son and his family and have some time to clean up two small perennial beds. In the next two weeks, will it good timing to prune back last year’s growth of azaleas, coneflowers, penstemon, rudbeckia, and eucomis?
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
Ecologically, we discourage garden bed clean-up (especially for plantings that use native species) as it can remove valuable resources and shelter for a variety of wildlife, including pollinators and other beneficial insects that are overwintering in the leaf litter and dead plant stems. If certain plants had a bad pest or disease problem last year, then localized clean-up of its old, dead foliage may be warranted.
If you do any clean-up, the timing is fine to do so now (February-March) for the herbaceous perennials, but do not trim any azalea branches until it is done flowering later this spring. If pruned now (excepting any branches that are definitely dead), that will remove the flower buds that will be opening in the coming weeks. Azaleas do not need routine pruning, and grow best without it, but if a few branches have gotten too tall/long in the past year and are blocking a window or walkway, they can be selectively cut back this month (if you don't mind missing a few flowers) or a bit later in spring.
Eucomis doensn't always overwinter here, so it might have died, but if your son has had luck with it surviving in the garden for several years now, then it shouldn't need much attention other than potentially trimming off any dead leaves before new growth emerges later this spring.
If any old flower heads of Coneflower and Rudbeckia remain that haven't shed their seeds yet, birds like Goldfinshes and various sparrows may enjoy eating the seeds that are left. If you need/want to prune them off but have the space available to keep them, you can lay the clippings down in another part of the yard to let wildlife finish eating their fill of the seeds (and this will also let some tiny native bees or other insects using the stems or leaves emerge later, when they are ready to resume activity. The page linked above has more information if you're interested in learning about more sustainable gardening practices.
Miri
If you do any clean-up, the timing is fine to do so now (February-March) for the herbaceous perennials, but do not trim any azalea branches until it is done flowering later this spring. If pruned now (excepting any branches that are definitely dead), that will remove the flower buds that will be opening in the coming weeks. Azaleas do not need routine pruning, and grow best without it, but if a few branches have gotten too tall/long in the past year and are blocking a window or walkway, they can be selectively cut back this month (if you don't mind missing a few flowers) or a bit later in spring.
Eucomis doensn't always overwinter here, so it might have died, but if your son has had luck with it surviving in the garden for several years now, then it shouldn't need much attention other than potentially trimming off any dead leaves before new growth emerges later this spring.
If any old flower heads of Coneflower and Rudbeckia remain that haven't shed their seeds yet, birds like Goldfinshes and various sparrows may enjoy eating the seeds that are left. If you need/want to prune them off but have the space available to keep them, you can lay the clippings down in another part of the yard to let wildlife finish eating their fill of the seeds (and this will also let some tiny native bees or other insects using the stems or leaves emerge later, when they are ready to resume activity. The page linked above has more information if you're interested in learning about more sustainable gardening practices.
Miri
