Fall Cutback Guide for Perennials: Black-Eyed Susans, Daisies, Roses

After flowering ends, most herbaceous perennials benefit from a clean cutback to prepare for winter and reduce disease carryover.

General Rule

Cut all dead foliage and stems to about 6 inches above soil level after the first hard frost. This applies to black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia), Shasta daisies, coneflowers, and similar clump-formers.

Roses Are Different

Do not hard-prune roses in fall. In cold climates (Zone 5–6), limit autumn work to:

• Removing diseased or broken canes.
• Light shaping if canes are whipped by wind.
• Mounding soil or mulch 10–12 inches over the graft union for winter protection.

Major structural pruning waits until early spring (when forsythia blooms).

Why Leave 6 Inches?

• Crowns are insulated by the stubble.
• Beneficial insects overwinter in hollow stems.
• Snow capture improves soil moisture.

Come spring, remove the remaining stubs as new growth emerges.