October 23 | Work in autumn Part II

Courage for Disorder

The second part of the report on the autumn works in the gardens of the Alpinum Schatzalp is about cutting back the plants. Because this measure will shape the winter and, above all, the upcoming season. The Alpinum garden team reports:
Continued from October 6th
Pruning is a completely different chapter. We constantly ask ourselves the question, what are we cutting back and are we cutting back at all? Basically, it should be said that we are not doing anything wrong if we don’t prune at all in the fall. This leaves insects, small animals, spiders and birds with hiding places as well as one or two morsels of food. In addition, the teasel plants or the rose hips with snowcaps and hoarfrost are a wonderful sight in winter. At least we shouldn’t deprive ourselves of this completely. Courage to be disorderly is a keyword that we can easily stick to.
But if we want to cut, there are a few hints to keep in mind. First of all, pruning is always an injury to the plant if it has not yet completely grown in, i.e. gone to rest. Therefore, perennials are cut back completely, if at all. Above all, we should cut those that we don’t want to go to seed and take over the bed more and more next year. But that also means that we leave those we would like to see seeded out. So we are already playing with next years design.

Don’t cut too much or too hard – But if we think about sub-shrubs, such as lavender and sage, a complete pruning is sometimes fatal, because the woody lower parts of these creatures then freeze and do not manage to sprout again in the coming spring. So it’s best to leave trees alone and wait for the coming year to see how the plants coped with the winter. Then We can reshape. In order to protect the small and large bushes from snow breakage, it is recommended to tie the plants together compactly but loosely enough with coconut tape. But let’s be careful not to pull on them too much so as not to damage the bark and nerves.
At any time you can take a walk with us on the Schatzalp and watch how we act in autumn with our cheeks red from the cold. Maybe you can already catch glimpses of next year. Because, as you have just read, a lot is happening during this time. When it’s completely over outside or dark, cold and wet, we can still revise our plant lists, write new labels and information boards and prepare next year’s program.
Our theme for the botanical weekend has already been decided. We will celebrate the coming year 2024 with “medical and psychoactive”. So if we don’t meet again this year because you are now preparing for next year in your own garden, we wish you all the best and thank you very much for a great season, your visits and your consideration for our most fragile but most important living beings.