It is very tempting to chop down dead flower heads in winter, but please leave them for the tiny creatures that are living on them, and for the seeds they provide for birds.
I've had to chop down my spent cornflowers, but bundled up the stems which are hollow and stacked horizontally, to maybe get used for native bee egg laying. Those dear little insects!
How wonderful, I'm so glad I've been gritting my teeth and itching to get my secateurs out! But I'll hold tight and wait, it's really good to actually see the reason to do so😊 Thank you!
I don't generally cut back but last year one Dahlia stem was really bugging me, I chopped it, saw something gooey and a flash of movement...I'd chopped a Sharp-Tailed Bee that was hiding out (I assume hibernating) in there in half. Felt so guilty I've not done it again ! Just been out and dug what I hope will be a bumblebee nest, placed it in an area I saw a queen hunting for sites last February so fingers crossed.
Thanks so much, Dave. I've started trying to take this approach in our community orchard. I'm lraving things like my willow fence and gorse/maple/plum hedges to grow as they'll then flower on this year's growth. My only concern is: when DO you prune? Because of course you then run into spring when I'll be disturbing nesting birds instead.
Hi Dave, I'm a fan of your work. I have a question about (bumble)bees that are nestling in hollow plant stems. Do you have any insight on what plants and in what periods they put their offspring in those plants? I want to avoid cutting back plants and killing the offspring. I even read a story that in some gardens (incl. lurie garden in Chicago) they cut back stems until 60cm and then leave them until next year, so they don't kill the eggs/larvae.
Sounds like the lazy gardeners charter. Sounds great to me. We have wasps overwintering in our log Rick's. I always try to put them back but was wondering whether once awoken from their torpor they die anyway?
My absolute number one is oenothera biennis, birds like Carduelis carduelis, Acanthis flammea, Spinus spinus and blue tits love it and feed all through the winter, dry and dead plants provide perfect hide for small creatures so predatory birds do not catch them
Alternatively, chop and drop the dead plant matter in situ for mulch. Optionally mix in some dead leaves. The critters and the seeds will survive just as well, the garden will be tidier, and it'll feed the soil. Toss in some powdered charcoal to add microbial habitat. Spray some yeast in the spring to speed up decomposition.
I don’t deadhead flowers as they feed so many birds. But I always struggle with the use of fire in my yard in the US. It is beneficial to the prairie flowers and grasses I try to grow, keeps the multitude of trees that try to sprout up and outcompete the prairie plants as well as knock back the invasive fortune spindle vines, E. fortunei, but it also destroys untold numbers of insects. I prefer to burn a bit in late February (not every year, only parts of the 1.5 acres), to promote new growth and new seed sprouting while avoiding herpetofauna deaths but I still worry.
"Tidiness is the enemy of diversity in the garden". Wonderful quote!
Dave, you should narrate insect videos and documentaries. I enjoy listening to you talk aboit such things. Well done!
Such a good point! It ie amazing to see how many insects are in the dead seed heads. Thanks for the demonstration!
What a fabulous way of showing us how many things are hiding in the weeds. Thank you.
I've had to chop down my spent cornflowers, but bundled up the stems which are hollow and stacked horizontally, to maybe get used for native bee egg laying. Those dear little insects!
How wonderful, I'm so glad I've been gritting my teeth and itching to get my secateurs out! But I'll hold tight and wait, it's really good to actually see the reason to do so😊 Thank you!
Whenever I do any tidying in winter I always chuck the deadheads and cuttings on a brush pile. Never throw anything in the brown bin
I don't generally cut back but last year one Dahlia stem was really bugging me, I chopped it, saw something gooey and a flash of movement...I'd chopped a Sharp-Tailed Bee that was hiding out (I assume hibernating) in there in half. Felt so guilty I've not done it again !
Just been out and dug what I hope will be a bumblebee nest, placed it in an area I saw a queen hunting for sites last February so fingers crossed.
The other benefit, is that if you have a lovely cold night, the stems look very photogenic when they have been frosted. 👍
Thanks so much, Dave. I've started trying to take this approach in our community orchard. I'm lraving things like my willow fence and gorse/maple/plum hedges to grow as they'll then flower on this year's growth. My only concern is: when DO you prune? Because of course you then run into spring when I'll be disturbing nesting birds instead.
Hi Dave, I'm a fan of your work. I have a question about (bumble)bees that are nestling in hollow plant stems. Do you have any insight on what plants and in what periods they put their offspring in those plants? I want to avoid cutting back plants and killing the offspring. I even read a story that in some gardens (incl. lurie garden in Chicago) they cut back stems until 60cm and then leave them until next year, so they don't kill the eggs/larvae.
Speaking as a "Dead Head", I do like to be left alone, but I'm quite friendly, and........ Oh-- you mean something else.
Will it be okay to chop and drop the dead heads in spring?
Sounds like the lazy gardeners charter. Sounds great to me.
We have wasps overwintering in our log Rick's. I always try to put them back but was wondering whether once awoken from their torpor they die anyway?
Tidiness is the Enemy of Diversity. I’d love to out that onto a t-shirt. 😊
wonderfull, thanks !
Especially the columbine is full of earwigs. :)
My absolute number one is oenothera biennis, birds like Carduelis carduelis, Acanthis flammea, Spinus spinus and blue tits love it and feed all through the winter, dry and dead plants provide perfect hide for small creatures so predatory birds do not catch them
Alternatively, chop and drop the dead plant matter in situ for mulch. Optionally mix in some dead leaves. The critters and the seeds will survive just as well, the garden will be tidier, and it'll feed the soil. Toss in some powdered charcoal to add microbial habitat. Spray some yeast in the spring to speed up decomposition.
No.
I don’t deadhead flowers as they feed so many birds. But I always struggle with the use of fire in my yard in the US. It is beneficial to the prairie flowers and grasses I try to grow, keeps the multitude of trees that try to sprout up and outcompete the prairie plants as well as knock back the invasive fortune spindle vines, E. fortunei, but it also destroys untold numbers of insects. I prefer to burn a bit in late February (not every year, only parts of the 1.5 acres), to promote new growth and new seed sprouting while avoiding herpetofauna deaths but I still worry.
Doing my messy best here in Middlesex 🥸