You can do clean up now, for sure. I usually clean my beds out in the fall, just because I'm a neat freak and can't stand the mess all winter. I have never lost anything. There are a few plants, however, that you can lose if you cut them back too early, at least in my area. This group is called subshrubs: perovskia, artemias, some salvias, to name a few. On these plants, you should wait until you see new grow in spring before cutting them back. Google subshrubs. You should easily get a list. Even for these plants, I strip their leaves off by hand just for a neater appearance.

While you're out pruning roses, don't forget to cut back ornamental grasses too. They are already starting to put out some early new growth here.

Debbie, I usually do my clean-up in conjucntion with rose-pruning, which typically streteches out for 4 to 6 weekends for me starting the first of the year. The only thing I don't clean up are the marginal items like Fuchsias;for those I wait till late March-provided I can stand to look at the ratty folige that long. I usually throw some alfalfa meal on the roses when they get a bit more leafed-out and I think nights in the 20's are over. I will start mulching after I get most of the weeds pulled. I rarely fertilize the general perennial population, just the roses.The Dahlias, lilies, asters, and so forth I cut back after the first couple of frosts, but I do leave quite a bit-I like to see something besides mud over the winter. lol.

Kathy in Napa

you clean up.. whenever the heck you want to ...

and frankly.. you dont even have to... if you just want a nice NATURAL garden ...

who is in charge anyway.. you or the plants????

reduced growth is due to the declination of the sun .... among other things... i dont see where fertilizer would do any good.. until the sun starts getting a bit higher in the sky ... which might be moot for your zone.. lol ... but for the rest of us.. earlier is not necessarily better ...

ken

Some in fall and some in spring. I prune my roses starting early March or just when they begin to show signs of waking up. I use the month where the city has free pickup of the kraft bags.

My clematis I prune back in spring, will be a lot of debris from those. Only C. Rooguchi is recommended to clear off the debris in the fall which I did as it dies to the ground.

I did cut a bunch of tall stems from hosta and lilies & few others so I and neighbors wouldn't have to look at it all winter. ken, those Honeybells bloomed like crazy and the most heavenly scent was permeating the area.

The dead stuff is easier to pick off in the spring, and many plants stayed green very late into December last fall. It looks pretty scruffy out there now, doesn't bother me.

let me clarify ...

roses have a schedule.. and need to be cut.. when appropriate to your zone ....

i meant that to be a preface to the rest of what i stated ...

i used to be anal retentive in my small suburban garden.. now on 5 acres ... a vast majority of what i used to 'clean up' is left right where it falls .... with no ill effect ....

i suppose i went from a formal garden.. to a cottage garden.. lol ...

ken

I try to follow general rules then wing it. ken, you are lucky to have so much room but so much more work.

One of my problems in the spring will be getting rid of two Walmart tubs full to the brim of apples. I got them picked up in the fall, shame to waste them but too much work cutting out bad spots with more work outside now. The tubs were cracked on the bottom from leaving them out the year B4 so they will at least drain.

I didn't have the energy to bag them in double grocery bags and incrementally put a few in the garbage in each week.

So I expect to have a mushy mess in the spring, the level will decay down some, but if I can make use of them, what can I do? I don't have a compost bin.

Last year I didn't have so many in the spring and just threw them on an empty garden spot, but I'm worried they may acidify the soil too much.

This was the first year nobody asked for them, and they were nicer than other years, bumper crop because of all the rain. One guy gathered them up to feed the deer out by a church. Others have made sauce from them. They are wonderful for pies.

I'm still eating applesauce I canned 5 years ago, woudldn't feed it to anybody else, but it seems ok, can tell by the look and smell. Ideally it's nice to pare and slice them, then put in bags and freeze. More work and not enough freezer space.

who would have thought.... all i wanted was more space.. boy that turned into a nightmare.. lol .. and i am a stay at home dad... WHAT WAS I THINKING... lol ...

i have one apple tree left ... darn seedlings everywhere ... its the only tree the kids are allowed to climb ...

you are NOT going to change pH unless you got a billion more ...

dig a hole .. dump them in .. cover them ... they will be gone .... just put them deep enough that the seeds wont sprout ... lol

everyone says.. why dont you produce food .. i say .. well with green beans at 50 cents a can ... it would cost $2 a jar to can them ... and then.. who needs 50 jars .. lol ... its a situation where you MUST fear your success ... lol ..

anyway

ken

I'm not exactly in zone 9, but close (8b). In our zones, as several others have mentioned, you can clean up whenever the mood strikes you :-) There is far less concern for the need to provide winter protection for anything but very marginally hardy plants, so removing old foliage, cutting back, even dividing or transplanting can be accomplished at your convenience during winter safely. Since I work in the gardening/horticulture business, my activity level ramps up very quickly in spring and is slow to wind down in fall so I do the bulk of my personal gardening in winter. If you tend to be in a wet winter climate, you just want to avoid messing with the soil when it is overly wet or saturated, otherwise pretty much any gardening chore can be undertaken now.

As to fertilizing, the need will depend on your soil conditions and the plants being grown but IME, not a great deal is required for the majority of perennials (or any other non-annual plant) if you have reasonably good soil. I do fertilize heavy feeders like clematis and roses immediately after pruning but any time in early spring will do. Otherwise, I tend to just let the compost I use for a mulch (applied after cleanup) provide any necessary fertilizing.

"who would have thought.... all i wanted was more space.. boy that turned into a nightmare.. lol .. and i am a stay at home dad... WHAT WAS I THINKING... lol ..."

Probably like I do. Unrealistic. Dreamer. Fantasy. But don't despair. Hope you can afford or already have a riding lawn mower or small tractor with some way to plow (not always a good idea but necessary for some things), small tiller forget it unless just a bed. And contrary to advertising, they don't break sod worth you know what, easier to dig it yourself and be done with it. If you can afford extra help now and then, especially until you start getting it the way you want it, there's no crime in that. I think it is GREAT overall.

I can see my beautiful wildflower meadow I can't have, and a smaller version isn't going to look right in my small yard. I've put together wild purple perennial lupine, a different kind of daisies that I hope don't clump but not like ones I had before that didn't, poppies, purple and blue bachelor's buttons. Took years to find some purple or lavendar ones. I made my own mix to avoid weed seeds in the mixes you buy plus it's custom.

I get suckers from that darn tree, and it split in half a couple years ago, what a mess to clean up! I'd get it taken down but need the shade for my partial shade garden. Seeds sprouting might be easier to pull up. Maybe yours are suckers? I have to get the pruners and cut them off under the surface of the soil, but more will be baaaaack.

As to kids climbing trees, my own safe trees, what kid doesn't love a tree? But I finally had to shoo the neighbor kids out of my trees because one wasn't safe any more plus people are so litigious now, and I can't count 100% on my ins. If it makes your kids happy, it's worth it.

I climbed whatever tree I could when I was a kid, but darned if when my daughter was in rehab, this poor family came in with a kid who had fallen out of a tree, don't know how high. I think he was almost totally paralyzed from a broken neck IIRC. Not trying to scare you, just make rules accordingly. Sure have to be careful with kids and riding mowers, read one or two horrors every year around here. You have to always be two thoughts ahead of kids anyway, and overprotecting them isn't good either. We survived. Somehow.

I won't worry about the ph then. I can dig a hole but would rather not a big one lol. Maybe I'll dump them on my unused gravel/grass driveway hoping nobody will complain. Or just throw some in the garden areas for mulch, cover with plenty of leaves I've got in a huge bin. Not too worried about sprouted seeds, haven't noticed any yet. Whatever I do, I won't worry about ph any more!

I'm with you on producing food. It's a huge amount of work. Unless you have plenty of jars (how many are enough when you're feeding a family and serious about it?), it's not cost effective, and the time could better be spent on another chore.

Apples are terribly expensive in the stores now, and if you can grow berries, it makes sense to preserve or freeze those. The one exception is tomatoes, and not the Roma ones for general purpose. There is no can of tomatoes like home canned, and you can taste the difference in what you cook with them.

I use my mil's easy method for tomatoes. Now. Used to water bath can them. I feel it's safe because tomatoes are acidic, you can easily tell when they spoil, they're easy to peel if dipped in hot water, cut up and cook in a kettle so they don't float, and so on. Canned peaches and apricots there's a huge difference, too. So I would those.

If you want to know that method, just holler.

One big thing is fresh greens; if you use a lot, and I should eat more, they're getting more expensive, but you can't preserve them except spinach and a couple others. You can preserve herbs like cilantro, parsley and who knows what else by freezing in ice, then breaking up and putting in bags in the freezer, better flavor than dried.

I may try growing lettuce and salad greens under my lights in the winter, forgot to order seeds and not about to pay more shipping costs now.

I'll be interested in hearing more about your highs and lows with your acres. If stuff grows out of control, no biggie unless it's in city limits where they police it. You'll hit stride in time and hope the kids will help. It will be good for them. Sorry so long here.

I did mine last fall except for things that they recommend you leave standing, like chrysanthemums and asters. The last couple days, when it's been in the 50's, I've had nothing to do. I guess it just doesn't pay to get ahead.

Totally Confused

I do mine whenever plants start to look ratty, except some that I want to keep for winter interests such as Sedum, ornamental grass & Hydrangea flower heads.
I cut my ornamental grass and Clematis in March.
I also clean up some in fall as well as in spring.