A wrinkle in yard work: Don't prune in fall

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Predictably, as soon as the first hint of a chill can be felt in the evening air, friends and colleagues start asking: What should I be doing in the yard now?

My short answer: Step away from the loppers.

I understand, the heat and humidity of summer has kept some of you trapped inside your air-conditioned homes for months. Now you're ready to put on a sweatshirt and impose order on overgrown trees, misshapen shrubs and raggedy perennials.

My advice: Don't do it.

Find another pastime. Try Netflix. Or Internet comment boards, if you have a lot of pent-up hostility. But leave your sorry-looking landscape alone until January.

I'm not promoting indolence _ not in this column, anyway. It's just that in most cases, pruning in fall is a very bad idea. Pruning stimulates new growth, which is much more susceptible to winter damage. Your plants are trying to power down and take a nap. Let them.

Some perennials can be safely cut back after frost turns their leaves to mush. K-State Research and Extension (www.oznet.ksu.edu) and University of Missouri Extension (www.extension.missouri.edu) have detailed information about what to prune when. Type in "pruning" in the search engine at either site, then look up guidelines for specific plants.

If you are compelled to exert yourself outdoors over the next few weekends, grab a rake. Or, for extra calorie burn, mow and bag the leaves in a mulching mower, then dump the free fertilizer around the bases of shrubs and over flower beds. (Water the mulched leaves into the beds well or cover them with a layer of decorative mulch to keep them from blowing down the street and aggravating neighbors.)

Mowing leaves rather than raking them will leave a dusting of brown leaf bits on the lawn. This might be a turn-off for fans of the golf-fairway look, but it's good for the grass.

Fall is also the ideal time to plant trees and shrubs. For best results, buy them at nurseries that offer delivery and planting for an added fee. It's worth the money to make sure the hole is prepared properly, not to mention saving wear and tear on your back.

My final _ and favorite _ suggestion for fall yard work junkies: Go shopping. Treat yourself to a couple of hours at any big area nursery and look for creative alternatives to mums for annual beds, window boxes and containers.

I don't mind mums, it's just that the first freeze wipes them out so completely. I got a much longer-lasting display one year by planting hardy pansies, violas and heather in the annual bed along my front walkway.

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Of course, if you love mums, buy mums. But consider trying a color you've never planted before. Or working in some violas or pansies for a more varied look. Knock yourself out. Just keep those pruning shears away from the roses.

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(Reach Cindy Hoedel at choedel@kcstar.com. Find more columns at KansasCity.com.)

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© 2008, The Kansas City Star.