:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/choosing-and-growing-black-eyed-susan-1402860-09-662b1c1f50364f05ad4fd1a93ffa35e6-6bbba780727a468495458deae9ac5f90.jpg?w=1024&resize=1024,1024&ssl=1 "Don’t Even Think About Cutting Back These 8 Plants in Fall—Your Garden Will Thank You Later")
Key Points
- Don’t prune Black Eyed Susans, sunflowers, or ornamental grasses—they add winter interest.
- Mums, geraniums, and Christmas ferns stay colorful or green, so no trimming is needed.
- Wait until spring to prune hydrangeas and ferns to protect next season’s blooms.
When the air gets cooler and you find you need an extra sweater more often than not, it can be easy to want to prune all of your plants and flowers to get ready for the upcoming season.
However, you actually don’t need to prune everything in your garden—and in fact, some plants shouldn’t be pruned at all.
We round up the plants you shouldn’t touch in the fall—leave the pruning for another day.
Black Eyed Susans
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
When you’re thinking about pruning for the fall season, it’s really important to think about birds and other insects and how to help provide them with food over the winter. According to the University of New Hampshire, Black Eyed Susans are just one kind of perennial that will help birds like finches and sparrows find food for the winter.
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Mums
Getty Images / Grace Cary
Garden mums are a popular plant to grow during the fall season, and it’s understandable as to why. These beauties that come in a variety of stunning fall shades don’t need pruning or trimming whatsoever.
Geraniums
Isabel Pavia / Getty Images
Geraniums are low-growing evergreens, so there is no need to touch these flowers. They don’t need much protection for the winter and don’t need a lot of cutting back.
Christmas Fern
David J. Stang / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Christmas fern is relatively unpicky about conditions in the fall and doesn’t usually need any trimming. Oh, another great thing about Christmas Fern? They stay nice and green throughout the wintertime, so you won’t have to worry about their leaves drying up or turning a dull brown.
Sunflowers
Alex Manders / Getty Images
Sunflowers are known for their beautiful golden blooms, especially in the fall. Luckily, these flowers don’t need much work to be done to them for the fall. These are another variety of plants that also help feed birds in the wintertime, so it’s best to leave them be and help out wildlife in return.
Oakleaf Hydrangeas
Billy_Fam / Getty Images
There’s no need to touch these hydrangeas over the next few months. If you prune the blooms too soon in the season, they may not grow back to their full bloom capacity for the next coming spring and summer.
Hydrangeas are such a beautiful flower and look stunning in your garden, so put away the pliers or scissors.
More Ferns
Jacky Parker Photography / Getty Images
While ferns may lose a lot of their color during the cooler months, it’s best not to touch them until you see more blooms popping up in the late winter or early spring. Even if they lose color, they will still add texture and depth to your fall garden.
Ornamental Grasses
Penpak Ngamsathain / Getty Images
Ornamental grasses are great for your front yard if you want more privacy. Luckily for you, these tall towering plants will last even throughout the winter, providing you with lovely landscapes.
They also won’t normally lose all their color or shrivel up, so you won’t need to worry about trimming any dead leaves or blooms.