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Planting perennials, propagating new plants and putting the perennial garden to bed for autumn and winter. Autumn is nature’s final flourish, bringing a golden hush to the garden as blooms fade and seed heads stand tall. There is beauty in this quiet decay, but with shorter days and rain setting in, you may notice your garden beginning to sag under the weight of fallen leaves and plant remains. When it’s time to put your garden bed to rest, it helps to know which plants need pulling out and which are simply due for a seasonal trim. A well-rounded garden often contains both annual and perennial plants, and they have quite different needs in autumn. In this guide, we’ll focus on perennial plants — what they are, how to care for them, and how to make the most of this transitional time of year. What is a perennial?A perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years, returning reliably each season, often with more vigour. You may have heard the phrase: “First year sleep, second year creep, third year leap.” This refers to how perennials typically take time to establish. Slowly in the first year, spreading in the second, and thriving by the third. Compared to annuals — which complete their life cycle in one season and need replanting next year — perennials are more reliable and require less long-term maintenance. When is the best time to plant perennials? That depends on the type of perennial and your local climate: Frost-sensitive perennials (like Salvia or Scented Geranium) are best planted in spring, especially in regions where winter temperatures dip below zero and there is risk of ground freezes. Dormant winter perennials (perennial flowers like Echinacea or Agastache) can be planted in early autumn to mid-autumn, before they die back for the season. Just remember where you plant them! (This is where plant tags can come in handy.) Herbaceous perennials and woody shrubs (like Achillea or Hydrangea) are perfect to plant in autumn. The cooler temperatures allow the root system to establish without the stress of the hot summers, and increased rainfall means less watering for you — win-win! Perennial pruning tipsPruning perennials can be a personal preference, but there are a few general guidelines worth considering: For a tidy look: Cut back perennials in late autumn, then finish with a layer of mulch for a clean, formal feel. For visual interest and to encourage local wildlife: Leave seed heads and dried stems in place through the winter months. They provide food and habitat for birds and insects, and add structural winter interest to the garden. Prune in late winter instead. For tender varieties: Delay pruning until after the last frost. The fresh growth of plants like Salvia or Penstemon may suffer if cut back too early. How to prune perennials: Use sharp, clean secateurs or garden knives Identify if the plant is herbaceous (soft plant stems) or woody. For herbaceous plants: Cut dead, brown material to around 20cm above the ground. Leave any green basal foliage intact. For woody perennials: Trim back by a third to half of the plant to prevent legginess. Don’t prune too heavily — some won’t recover! Bonus tip: Use healthy cuttings for propagation (see below). Time to lift & divide perennialsPerennials are the workhorses of the garden, but after a few years they can become crowded, woody or stop flowering. That’s when it’s time to lift and divide them. Signs it’s time to divide your plants: The plant is dying off in the centre Stems flop over Flowering is poor When to divide perennials: Spring-flowering perennials → Divide in autumn  Late summer/autumn-flowering perennials → Divide in spring How to divide perennials: Water well the day before. Use a spade to dig a wide circle around the plant. Gently lift it out. Tease apart the bare roots by hand or cut with snips/spade if needed. Replant with fresh compost and a dose of seaweed tonic to ease transplant shock. Propagating perennial plants by division or cuttings?Autumn is a great time to grow your perennial plant collection or share plants with friends. Free garden plants, yes please! After pruning or dividing, propagate cuttings or pot up divisions to establish over winter forspring planting. Some perennials can’t be divided and must be propagated from cuttings. Examples of theseare: Hydrangea, Salvia, Penstemon, Verbena bonariensis, Scented Geranium, Roses, Lavender, Rosemary, Mint and Chrysanthemum. How to take perennial cuttings: Choose non-flowering lateral shoots with healthy growth. Cut with clean snips and place in a ziplock bag to prevent moisture loss. Strip lower leaves, leaving two sets of leaves at the top. Use a free-draining mix (eg. potting soil + sand/pumice). Insert cuttings around the edge of the pot, where it’s moist and cool. Water, cover with a ziplock bag or humidity dome. Use a heat mat to speed up rooting (2–4 weeks). Pot each cutting individually and water with seaweed tonic. Let them mature before transplanting outdoors. Rearranging the garden borderAutumn is the ideal time to rearrange your perennial flowers and garden border. With summer still fresh in your mind, you’ll know where gaps appeared or where combinations fell flat. Because plant and root growth has slowed, now’s the perfect time to lift and relocate underperforming plants or adjust for better balance. Whether it’s too much full sun, too little moisture or just an uninspiring design — move them now and give them a chance to settle in before winter. Final autumn perennial plant care tipsWrap up your garden prep with a few simple and rewarding tasks: Weed thoroughly to start the next season clean. Weeds compete for nutrients and will rebound fast next spring. Feed your soil: For best results, Apply a liquid seaweed mix or a slow-release fertiliser like OceanFert and add organic matter: compost, aged manure, humates Mulch generously to protect roots, suppress weeds and improve moisture retention. Good options organic mulch options include: Wood chips, pea straw, compost, wool mulch Your autumn perennial to-do list: Plant suitable perennials (see above) Prune selectively, with local wildlife and frost in mind Divide overcrowded clumps Propagate new individual plants Rearrange borders if needed Feed, mulch and tidy up With a bit of thoughtful prep now, your garden will wake up in spring healthier, more vibrant and ready to leap into a new growing season. ________________________________________________ This is a Sage Journal Blog, written for the Gardening Series Sponsored by Bugg

One of the best ways to keep your summer garden looking tidy and to encourage more flowers is the simple act of deadheading. Most perennial and all annual flowering plants will flower again if you remove the finished flowers, so being regular in deadheading means a consistent show of flowers through summer and into autumn. If you have an event happening at your place this summer/autumn and you want flowers (and in particular roses!) to be looking their best at the time, you need to be dead heading them 6 weeks before the date to give them time to reflush and rebloom on time. There is another benefit to deadheading. Removing the spent flowers stops the formation of seed heads which if left to mature will do their best to spread themselves around your garden, into gravel pathways or cracks in paths or driveways. Some gardeners are happy to let nature take its course but if you prefer to choose where the plants will grow, stopping self seeding is very helpful. This also relates to weed control. If you don’t have time to deal with a weed right now but it has a seed head on it? Pinch off that flower head! Then you only have one weed to deal with rather than a potential 2000 seeds being released into your garden to grow! To keep summer flowering shrubs looking good and to keep them looking bushy and dense, the time to give them their annual prune is after they finish their main flowering in summer. If you leave it until later in autumn or winter there is a very strong likelihood that you will remove the flower buds for the next summer. So do it in summer after they finish blooming. You may find some that never seem to stop blooming so in those cases you will just have to pick a time and sacrifice some blooms when you trim it. The exception to this rule is of course fruiting shrubs like feijoas, the time to trim them is after they fruit or you will be removing all the potential fruit. Another thing to consider when planning out your floral show is to consider if you want fewer large size flowers or many smaller flowers. It is the same concept as thinning out the developing fruit to ensure you get bigger fruit rather than lots of small ones. If you want to focus on bigger flowers, removing side shoots, pinching off lateral flower buds and even limiting the number of shoots growing from the crown of a perennial plant will channel energy into the remaining shoots and buds. Pests and diseases can start to appear as plants get stressed in the summer heat. Doing a regular wander in the garden will help you recognise quickly when a pest or disease appears. When you spot the first signs, ensure you act quickly. Physically removing the affected part of the plant will remove the first infestation and help to stop or slow down the spread. Make sure that you throw the affected parts in the rubbish bin (not on the ground or in the compost bin) and wash your hands if it is a fungal disease. You don’t want to accidentally spread the spores to other plants in your garden. Follow up with an appropriate spray in order to knock out any remaining insects, eggs or fungal spores and follow up with another spray as per the bottle instructions (approx 10-14 days). Fungal diseases do not go away on their own and pests can reproduce generations of offspring in a short period of time so do something at the time you first see it and (pardon the pun) nip the problem in the bud! Producing fruit and flowers takes a lot of energy so ensure your plants are well fed, either with an appropriate slow release fertiliser or with regular liquid feeding. If your weather is dry, water deeply but less often. A plant watered deeply once or twice a week will send its roots down deep into the soil where they will be less affected by temperature and moisture fluctuations at the soil surface. When you water, ensure the water is directed at the soil, not over the top of the plant. Water on the leaves increases the chances of fungal disease especially in warm weather. And keep in mind that plants may wilt simply because it is really hot, not because they are thirsty so always check the soil moisture before you water. You may find when you check on them later in the day when it has cooled down they have perked back up without being watered. Spreading a generous layer of mulch over the soil when it is damp will also help hold the soil moisture in while making the garden look tidy. Mulch will over time improve the quality of your soil as well which is always a good thing! Finally, as the summer rolls on, make a point of noting any parts of the garden that are lacking summer colour or interest. Go and visit a garden centre at that time as they will have plants in flower available at that time to help you fill the gaps. Likewise if there are plants that are not performing or flower colours are clashing with neighbouring plants, make a note of them to move them in autumn if you want to move the plant or simply get rid of it now and find something that does have a flower colour that works! Summer is such a colourful time in the garden but it can be a big job to keep it looking good. Think of it like a marathon, it’s slow and steady that wins the race.