I've had some luck with using a pretty small twist of a cotton ball, dunked quickly in water and then compressed to fit into the hollow stem. First I cut the stem, hold it under the water faucet to try to get a trickle of water into the stem, and then I stop the stem with the wet cotton twist. Then I put the delph back into water or wet foam. If I use the small side stems, I don't do this, because they don't seem hollow. It doesn't work with every stem, but it does help. I read this in a flower arranging book, written by an author the National Federated Garden Club recommends. Good luck!

I cut back many plants simply to keep them looking somewhat tidy. Actually, most do NOT re-bloom for me. However, Salvia, Speedwell, Veronica, some daisies, some sedums...do. And, all minty-type flowers like monarda, sage, catmint. Some geraniums also have rebloomed after a clip to half height. And some delphiniums will send out smaller side shoots that bloom after the main big bloom is cut. (much like a broccoli) Cut back and take notes as to what comes back for you. Lucky you to have a ready-made garden. Pondy

Hi Julia, You're going to find varying opinions about many of these---if you posted some of them on the perennials forum, you'd probably get a half dozen different opinions for any one plant, so don't worry too much about it--try different things and see how you like the result. Here's what I do with some of mine. Snaps, I leave the seed develop and shake it around where I want more to grow next year--I get free plants, and, since they cross pollinate, it's always fun to see what colors come up. Groundcover sedum, with most of them, if they're getting to straggly or ratty looking I cut them almost the whole way down to the ground--it takes a little while, but most of them come back with beautiful new foliage. After they bloom is the best time to cut them or you may not get any flowers for a whole year. Upright sedum, leave the dried flowers on for winter interest. If they get ratty looking over winter, cut them all the way down--if they stay looking good, cut them down in spring. Bleeding heart--old-fashioned bleeding heart, Dicentra spectabilis, I cut down everything as soon as the foliage starts to yellow at all. D.s. goes dormant in summer when it gets too hot out, and some people leave the foliage on until it's completely yellow. Columbine, I deadhead as soon as the petals fall off--individual flowers first and then the whole stem all the way down, but lots of people like to leave the seed develop to either drop naturally or to sprinkle where they want more plants. Columbines also cross pollinate, so you won't know what color the new plants are until they bloom. If my columbine foliage gets powdery mildew or looks bad for any other reason, I cut it all the way down to the ground--it regrows very quickly and looks great again. Hollyhocks, I keep individual leaves cut off as they look bad, and after they're done blooming I cut most of the stems all the way down, but leave some on for seed which I scatter where I want it. They, too, cross pollinate. After I get my seed, if the foliage looks bad--and it usually does--I cut it all the way down to get new foliage. Russian sage I cut down about 1/3 when it's about a foot high in spring to help develop stronger stems so it will stay more upright and give me a fuller plant. Most plants I cut down to the ground in fall, but Russian sage I leave at least several inches of old wood on over winter and cut it back in early spring as soon as I can see new growth. (I leave some old growth on Agastache and Gaura until spring too.) Coneflower and painted daisies I cut the dead flower stems all the way down. You may want to leave coneflower seed develop to use later. Iris and lilies, cut the dead flower stems all the way down. Whenever you're deadheading, cut as far down as you can without cutting off good flowers or buds. When there are no more buds left, cut the stem all the way down. On almost everything, if you leave part of the stem on, it will continue to brown and look bad and you'll need to go back and cut it down later anyway. If the Mexican primrose you have is Mexican evening primrose, Oenothera berlandieri 'Siskiyou' (pink flowers), I recommend spraying it with Roundup! If you keep it, in another year or so, it will be everywhere--it's TOTALLY invasive. Once it starts to spread, it's VERY difficult to get rid of it--it spreads underground and it's almost impossible to get all the roots out. And I agree with Rhonda, with the clematis, you definitely need to know what kind you have before you start doing any cutting back or pruning. With hybrid tea roses, when the flowers look bad or the petals drop, cut them back far enough to be cutting off at least the first 5-leaflet leaf. If they're taller than you want, you can cut them back further. Cut just above a leaf, and you can control the direction the new stem will grow by cutting above a leaf on that side of the cane. With other types of roses, I agree, check out the rose forum for more specific information. Some roses bloom on old wood only, and if you cut them back too far, you'll get few or no blooms the next year. Have fun, Skybird

Mindy definitely an interesting point of view expressed in the article. Like George, I hate to see the disorder out in the garden and plus in spring my gardens are very muddy and take a long time to dry out enough. I am afraid I wouldn't have the time to do everything in the spring also. But one season when illness prevent me from doing the clearing in fall fully I can tell you that the plants overwintered better with the protection of the leaves and the foliage was as you stated dramatically reduced. I can see for your garden and lot having visited it that it would be difficult for you to find a composting spot as your gardens are so lushly planted. Thanks for posting --interesting to debate the merits of each method. Sue