Ditto what Kevin says about leaving 6" or so of stems of late-risers when cutting things back in the fall - for me, that's largely the hardy hibiscuses, which don't re-appear here until June! Without the reminder of a few inches of old stems, there'd be no way to tell where they are. Actually, I leave a lot of clean-up to the spring, only cutting down things that might carry disease over in the foliage (e.g. peonies....), or that have seedheads that will deposit unwanted seedlings, or that have tall coarse stems that will be unattractive and messy when flattened by snow and wind. So it's pretty easy to see where most things are in spring simply by the mounds of dead foliage. The remains of the old foliage also helps protect the emerging new growth from the sometimes wildly fluctuating bouts of warm and cold spring temperatures! It's far too early here to be doing a bare-earth clean-up yet. A few 'bad' insect pests (mostly snails!) will overwinter in the foliage, but so do 'good' insects; on the whole, the balance favors the 'good' ones - but the situation might be different in your climate.

I live in Northern California, in the valley. And even though it is 70+ right now and we are experiencing an historical drought, a couple of weeks ago it froze at night. I have 3 Bougainvillea that didnt handle it well, mainly because there was a cold wind and no protection. I have since moved them to my patio where they are now protected from any wind and enjoy sun throughout the day. Or forcast is mid 40's at night and high 60's for the next 10 days. As you can see all the foliage has died. I am in the process of plucking it all off. I also water it like a houseplant for now... So, do you think they will recover?. Should I bring them inside or do you think the air will be too dry? Should I cut the plants down? Many thanks! Mark H. Sacramento, CA

Thanks all.. I done ordered my "Moats"... and you know ctnchpr, I was thinking about "off" also thought about WD40... works on lots of things LOL sure makes my steps go up in the motor home..so it definitely give them ants a few slips...LOL.... Ok, now you all just fill them with water...not petroleum jelly..so that would mean as my housekeeper comes over to do the feeders she can refill too...Oh I know she'll love this ...Why not...what's one more thing..hahahaha..but she's gonna enjoy how they get to know you... they sure do watch when you're near the feeder...buzzed by me a few times ...and one was even floating by me today as I wiped away those buggers...(ants) I looked an low and behold..looked like he was in suspended animation..hahaha then I heard the buzzzzzzz and away he went.. Can ya tell I'm definitely loving this ...I know I'll shed a tear as I pull out my drive way..worrying that they will be ok...Lordy ... God Bless BarbZeee

What you use will depend on how those "weeds" spread round. An in soil barrier works, often, to contain "weeds" that spread by roots but is ineffective against "weeds" that spread by seeds. A 2 inch later of mulch may be just barely enough, usually I will plunk down 3 to 4 inches on top of newspaper and find that will contain most "weeds" for me. I have seen many places where some landscape fabric was plunked down and covered with 2 inches of a mulch and the "weeds" grow rampant in those beds.