Time for a Trim

10 perennials you can cut back every fall (and five to leave alone)

- LISA MEYERS MCCLINTICK

In the crunch of the annual fall cleanup, remember to make time for perennial care too.

Cutting back foliage protects flowering plants from disease and provides a clean start for regrowth.

But many perennial plants are worth leaving up if they're healthy, since letting them stand for winter can increase their hardiness and benefit wildlife.

Dick Zondag, former president of Wisconsin-based J.W. Jung Seed Co., offers tips for getting perennials ready, if you choose to trim them. So grab a pruner and start cropping these 10 plants.

1. IRIS

This showy summer favorite is vulnerable to infestations of iris borers, which tunnel into the base of the rhizome to lay eggs. Trim the fan of sword-shaped leaves at an angle so they slope upward into a center peak no higher than 6 to 8 inches. Then remove any dead or dried leaf debris.

2. BEE BALM

Cutting back this plant keeps it healthy for the hummingbirds and butterflies that flock to it in midsummer. Bring it right down to the soil to discourage problems such as mildew. If plants show signs of mildew, dispose of the cuttings instead of composting them.

3. PEONY