13 Perennials You Should Be Pruning Right Now to Guarantee Better Growth and Healthier Plants Next Season

Well, I have good news for you: you don’t have to wait for the first warm day of spring to get started. In fact, for a lot of our favorite perennials, waiting until April is actually a mistake.

We talk a lot about “winter interest” in the gardening world—leaving seed heads up for the goldfinches and letting ornamental grasses catch the snow. And while that is beautiful in December, let’s be honest about what we are looking at by the time February rolls around. The birds have usually picked the seeds clean, the stems have turned into a mushy, gray mess, and that “structure” has mostly collapsed.

But beyond just tidying up the view, there is a huge strategic reason to get out there with your shears right now. This is your window of opportunity. In a few weeks, these plants are going to start pushing up delicate, new baby shoots. If you wait until then, cleaning them up becomes a game of “Operation”—you have to carefully snip around every single new leaf to avoid damaging the plant. It takes forever!

So, let’s save ourselves the headache later! Here are the 12 perennials you should absolutely cut back this winter while they are still dormant.

1. Catmint (Nepeta)

I absolutely love Catmint for its long bloom time, but let’s be honest, by January it usually looks pretty ratty and tired in the landscape. If you go out and look at your clumps right now, you’ll probably see a bunch of dry, gray stems that are just flopping over and creating a bit of a mess.

I actually like to get in there really early with this one, usually in late winter, because this plant starts pushing new green growth super fast and I don’t want to accidentally snip those new leaves later on. You can literally just take your hedge shears—you don’t even need your small hand pruners—and just whack the whole thing back to about two or three inches from the soil.

It smells amazing while you are cutting it which makes the chore way better, and since it is super cold hardy in Zones 3 through 8, you really don’t have to worry about hurting it by cutting it back now.

2. Hellebore (Lenten Rose)

You might be looking at your Hellebores and thinking, “Hey, they are technically evergreen, I should leave them,” but please, for the love of your future flowers, do not listen to that instinct.

I used to hesitate, thinking I was hurting the plant by removing green leaves in the dead of winter, but the truth is those old leaves are usually battered, tattered, and harboring nasty fungal spores like black spot that will jump right onto your beautiful new blooms if you stick around.

In Zones 4 through 9, you need to grab your pruners today—literally right now—and snip every single tough, leathery leaf from last year all the way down to the soil line.

Do not wait for spring to officially spring; if you delay even a few weeks, the new flower stalks will push up right through that messy foliage, and good luck trying to prune around them without accidentally snipping off a bud.

It is so much easier to clear the deck in January or February while the plant is flat, giving those stunning early blossoms the spotlight they deserve without a ragged, disease-ridden backdrop.

3. Coneflower (Echinacea)

You need to draw a hard line with Coneflowers because while leaving them up for winter interest is popular, by January they have turned into a liability.

The problem is that once the birds finish the seeds, the remaining heads shatter and drop thousands of “volunteer” seeds that will sprout into an aggressive carpet of weeds next spring, often crowding out your expensive cultivars.

In Zones 3 through 9, you should go out there right now and cut every single stem flush with the ground. It is much smarter to do this while the ground is frozen and the plant is dormant because Echinacea crowns are very prone to heaving out of the soil.

If you wait until the spring thaw to tug and pull at tough stems, you risk disturbing the root system just as it is trying to wake up.

4. Bee Balm (Monarda)

Let’s be real for a second: if you grew Bee Balm last summer, you probably battled that annoying white powdery mildew by August, and that is exactly why you need to cut this plant back right now—do not wait for spring.

I used to leave the seed heads up for the birds, but I quickly realized I was just creating a “winter hotel” for fungal spores to hibernate and re-infect my patch the moment the weather warmed up.

In Zones 4 through 9, you need to be proactive and cut all those woody stems down to about 2 inches above the soil line in January or February.

If you procrastinate and wait until the temperatures consistently hit 45°F or 50°F, the plant will start pushing out tiny new “basal” leaves (little green rosettes) at the ground level, and trying to hack away the old, hard stalks without crushing those tender babies is a nightmare.

So, grab your pruners today and sanitize that area; getting rid of that old debris is the single best technical defense you have to ensure fresh, clean foliage next season.

5. Daylily (Hemerocallis)

Okay, confess: you didn’t cut these back in the fall when you were technically supposed to, did you? It’s fine, we’ve all been there, but you need to fix it right now—seriously, do not wait until spring.

By January and February, frost has turned that once-green foliage into a pile of wet, slimy mush that is basically suffocating the crown of the plant. If you procrastinate and wait until the weather gets nice, you are going to run into a huge problem: the new green shoots (fans) will start growing right up through that rotting goop.

I remember trying to clean a bed in March and it was a nightmare; every time I tried to rake away the slime, I accidentally ripped the tips off the tender new sprouts hiding inside.

If you are in Zones 3 through 9, save your plants (and your sanity) by going out there today. You usually don’t even need shears—just grab the soggy mess with gloved hands and pull it away from the base so the plant can breathe.

6. Wisteria

If you want those cascading purple blooms instead of just a massive jungle of leaves, you have to get technical with your pruning right now—do not wait for the buds to swell. In Zones 5 through 9, Wisteria requires a strict winter “spur pruning” while the plant is completely dormant in January or February.

Here is the specific rule you need to follow: identify all those long, whippy side shoots (laterals) that grew like crazy last summer, and cut every single one of them back to just 2 or 3 buds—which usually means leaving a stub only about 6 inches long attached to the main woody vine.

I know it feels drastic to cut off 90% of the growth, but if you wait until spring, you won’t be able to see the structure through the new leaves, and you will end up shading out the flower buds.

I learned this the hard way when I skipped a winter prune; the result was a heavy, tangled mess that collapsed my trellis and produced zero flowers. So grab your ladder and heavy-duty loppers today, and reduce those whippy stems to short spurs to force the plant’s energy directly into blooming.

7. Tickseed (Coreopsis)

Coreopsis is one of those plants that looks like it wants attention in winter, but most of the time, it’s better if you don’t rush in with the pruners. By January and February, the stems are usually thin, dry, and rattly in the wind, while the base of the plant is quietly holding on.

In Zones 4–7, you have two reasonable options, and neither one is wrong. If the plant has completely collapsed and looks messy, you can cut it back in late winter, trimming the old stems down to about 3–4 inches above the soil. This keeps the crown from staying damp and makes spring cleanup quicker. Just don’t cut flush to the ground — that little bit of stem helps protect the plant during temperature swings.

If your coreopsis still has some structure or you garden in a milder area (Zones 8–9), waiting is often the smarter move. Many varieties hold a small green base through winter, and cutting too early can stress plants that haven’t fully gone dormant. In those gardens, it’s best to wait until early spring, when you see fresh growth starting at the base, then remove the old stems.

The biggest mistake with coreopsis isn’t cutting too late — it’s cutting too hard. Think of winter cleanup as a light reset, not a full teardown.

8. Ornamental Grasses (Miscanthus, Panicum)

We all love the idea of “winter interest,” but let’s be real: by February, that “interest” is usually shattering and blowing all over your neighbor’s lawn. You need to cut these warm-season grasses back right now—do not wait for the first crocus to pop.

In Zones 4 through 9, the biggest technical mistake gardeners make is waiting until they see green growth; if you do that, you are already too late. The new green blades grow vertically right up through the center of the old, hollow stems, and if you shear the clump in March or April, you will inevitably slice the tips off the new grass, leaving you with ugly, flat-topped foliage for the rest of the year.

I ruined a beautiful stand of Miscanthus once by waiting too long; the whole season it looked like it had a bad crew cut with brown tips.

Save yourself the heartache: go out there today with electric hedge trimmers (trust me, they are easier than hand shears) and cut the whole bundle down flat, leaving about 4 to 6 inches of stubble above the crown so the new growth can emerge pristine and uncut.

9. Hosta (Hosta)

You basically have no excuse for leaving Hosta leaves this long because by now they are just a wet paper-mache mess on the ground, and you need to clean this up immediately.

In Zones 3 through 9, that rotting foliage is the number one breeding ground for slugs and snails, and if you leave it there, you are guaranteeing a hole-filled garden next summer. You have to get out there in January or February and peel that slimy layer of dead leaves off the soil surface—it usually pulls right away without any tools.

If you procrastinate and wait until the soil warms up, the sharp, pointy “eyes” (or pips) of the Hosta will start poking out of the ground, and it is impossible to rake the debris away without snapping those fragile tips off.

I ruined a huge ‘Sum and Substance’ Hosta once by stepping all over the invisible new shoots while trying to do a late spring cleanup, so save yourself the regret and clear the ground now while the plant is safely underground.

10. Shasta Daisy (Leucanthemum)

Shasta Daisies are tough, but they don’t exactly age gracefully through the winter. By January or February, those cheerful summer stems have likely turned into a tangled mess of black, slimy foliage that isn’t helping your garden’s aesthetic. If you’re itching to clean up, these are a great candidate for the chopping block.

Grab your shears and cut the dead stems all the way down to the ground, specifically focusing on the old flowering stalks. You want to clear the decks so the new “basal rosette”—that cluster of leaves at the base—can get sunlight and air circulation.

In colder zones (4 through 7), you can be pretty aggressive with this cleanup now. However, if you are in a warmer zone and still see green leaves persisting at the base, be careful. Don’t scalp the green growth; just remove the dead brown stalks. That bit of green helps the plant gather energy for an early spring start.

11. Herbaceous Peonies (Paeonia)

You really need to stop looking at those black, shriveled stems and get out there to cut them down immediately because they are basically a welcome mat for disease.

If you are growing herbaceous Peonies in Zones 3 through 8, the old foliage is almost certainly harboring fungal spores like Botrytis that will reinfect your plant next spring if you let them sit there.

I used to be lazy and leave them until March, but I stopped doing that after I accidentally stepped on the fragile red “eyes” (the new shoots) that start poking out of the dirt the second the snow melts.

You need to take your shears and cut every single stem all the way down to the ground right now—do not leave stubble. It is technically crucial that you throw these clippings in the trash rather than the compost pile because you want those fungal spores as far away from your garden as possible before the new season begins.

12. Salvia (Salvia)

You know how messy Salvia gets by the middle of winter? It usually turns into a bundle of dry, gray sticks that doesn’t do your garden any favors. If you are growing the herbaceous varieties like ‘May Night’ then you really don’t need to be shy with your pruning shears.

Take a look at the base of the plant and you will likely see a small clump of new green leaves huddling against the ground.

Go ahead and cut all the old dead stems down to about one or two inches above that new growth. If you live in Zones 4 through 8, getting this done in January or February is great because it tidies up the garden before spring really hits. Just make sure you double check which type you have.

If you are growing the shrubby woody kinds like Autumn Sage, especially in warmer climates, you need to wait. Cutting into those woody stems now can let the frost in and damage the plant, so hold off until you see strong new growth in the spring.

13. Yarrow (Achillea)

Yarrow is a total workhorse in the summer garden but those tall flower stalks turn into rigid brown sticks that can look pretty messy by January. You definitely want to clear those out before the fresh growth starts fighting for space.

The main thing to watch for is that low mat of fern-like green leaves at the base of the plant because that foliage usually stays evergreen or semi-evergreen through the winter.

Grab your shears and cut the old flowering stems right down to the ground but be careful to leave that green basal foliage intact. It is really important that you cut the stems rather than pulling them.

Yarrow has shallow roots and runners so if you yank on a tough stem you might accidentally rip up a chunk of the plant. This is a great job for a sunny winter afternoon in almost any zone because getting that old debris out of there helps prevent rot and keeps the crown healthy for spring.