As autumn leaves paint Illinois landscapes with amber and gold, gardeners need to prepare their outdoor spaces for the coming winter. Fall garden cleanup isn’t just about keeping things tidy—it’s essential for preventing pest problems, diseases, and giving your garden the best start next spring.
With Illinois’ distinct seasons and winter snowfall, these cleanup tasks will help your garden sleep peacefully through the cold months ahead.
1. Clear Out Annual Flowers
Once frost has blackened your annual flowers, it’s time to pull them out. Many Illinois gardeners I know keep a special garden waste bin just for this task, separating potentially diseased plants from those headed to the compost pile.
Removing spent annuals prevents overwintering pests and helps reduce disease pressure next season. I’ve learned that clearing zinnia and petunia beds promptly after first frost makes spring preparation much smoother.
Don’t forget to collect any plant markers or stakes as you go. A neighbor in Springfield taught me to wash and sanitize these with a mild bleach solution before storing them for next year.
2. Trim Back Perennials—But Not All
Cutting back perennial plants helps prevent disease and creates a tidy garden bed. However, selective pruning is key in Illinois gardens where winter wildlife depends on seed heads and hollow stems.
Leave coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, and ornamental grasses standing until spring. These provide food for birds and shelter for beneficial insects during harsh Midwest winters.
My Chicago-area garden always looks best when I cut back hostas, daylilies, and peonies to about 3 inches above ground after they’ve yellowed. This prevents soggy foliage from rotting against the crown during winter thaws.
3. Rake And Repurpose Fallen Leaves
Fallen leaves shouldn’t go to waste! Instead of bagging them for the landfill, shred them with your lawn mower to create free mulch. The oak and maple leaves common throughout Illinois break down perfectly when shredded.
Use this natural resource to insulate perennial beds with a 2-3 inch layer. Last year, I protected my hydrangeas this way and they bloomed better than ever before.
For excess leaves, start a simple leaf mold pile in a back corner of your yard. A gardening friend in Champaign showed me how these decompose into rich soil amendment after just one year—perfect for our clay-heavy Illinois soils.
4. Protect Tender Roses
Illinois winters can be brutal on hybrid tea and floribunda roses. After the first hard frost but before the ground freezes, cut back canes to about 12-15 inches tall to prevent winter wind damage.
Create a protective mound of soil or compost around the base, about 8-10 inches high. Many experienced gardeners in northern Illinois counties add a layer of shredded leaves on top for extra insulation.
For climbing roses, I’ve found it helpful to gently remove them from their supports and lay them on the ground with a protective covering. A master gardener from Peoria taught me this trick, and I haven’t lost a climber since!
5. Divide And Relocate Overcrowded Perennials
Fall’s cooler temperatures make it the perfect time for dividing perennials in Illinois gardens. Plants like irises, daylilies, and hostas benefit from division every few years to maintain vigor and flowering.
Using a sharp spade, dig around the plant’s drip line and lift the entire clump. Gently separate the roots into smaller sections, each with healthy roots and several growth points.
Replant immediately and water thoroughly. A gardening mentor from Bloomington shared that adding a handful of bone meal to the planting hole helps establish strong root systems before Illinois’ ground freezes in late November.
6. Prep Vegetable Beds For Winter
Clearing tomato cages and bean poles from Illinois vegetable gardens prevents damage from heavy snow. I’ve learned to wash these structures with a 10% bleach solution to kill any lingering disease organisms before storage.
Remove all plant debris, especially from nightshade family crops like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. These can harbor devastating diseases in our region’s soil.
Consider planting a cover crop like winter rye in empty beds. My neighbor in Springfield swears this practice has dramatically improved his heavy Illinois clay soil over the years, adding organic matter and preventing winter erosion.
7. Mulch Around Trees And Shrubs
Adding a fresh layer of mulch around trees and shrubs helps insulate roots from Illinois’ temperature fluctuations. Apply a 2-3 inch layer, keeping it several inches away from trunks and stems to prevent rot and rodent damage.
Hardwood mulch works wonderfully in our region’s climate and gradually improves soil quality as it breaks down. After moving to the Chicago suburbs, I discovered that local municipal programs often offer free mulch to residents.
Extend mulch rings to the drip line of trees when possible. A landscape architect in Springfield explained this mimics natural forest conditions, where fallen leaves create protective zones around tree roots.
8. Store Garden Hoses And Irrigation Equipment
Freezing temperatures can crack garden hoses and damage irrigation equipment. Drain all water from hoses by stretching them out on a sloped surface before coiling and storing in a protected area.
Disconnect and drain outdoor faucets to prevent costly pipe damage. Having replaced frozen spigots twice in my first Illinois home, I now religiously follow this step by mid-October.
For drip irrigation systems common in Illinois vegetable gardens, open drain valves and blow out lines with compressed air. A gardening club member from Urbana recommends storing the main components indoors where our harsh Midwest freezes won’t damage plastic parts.
9. Clean And Sharpen Garden Tools
Fall cleanup offers the perfect opportunity to maintain garden tools before winter storage. Remove caked-on soil from shovels, trowels, and pruners using a stiff brush or putty knife.
Sanitize cutting tools with rubbing alcohol to prevent spreading disease between plants next season. After 15 years gardening in central Illinois, I’ve found this simple step prevents many common plant problems.
Sharpen dull edges and apply a light coating of oil to metal parts to prevent rust during our humid Illinois winters. Wooden handles benefit from a light sanding and coating with linseed oil—a tip from an elderly gardener in Springfield that has kept my tools looking great for years.
10. Prepare Water Features For Freezing Temperatures
Fountains and small ponds need special attention before Illinois winters arrive. Remove pumps, clean them thoroughly, and store indoors to prevent freeze damage that I’ve personally found costly to repair.
For small decorative ponds, remove fallen leaves with a net regularly throughout autumn. Decaying organic matter reduces oxygen levels that fish need to survive winter.
Consider adding a pond heater or bubbler if you have fish. A water gardening enthusiast from Naperville taught me this keeps a small area ice-free, allowing toxic gases to escape during winter when our Illinois ponds freeze solid for months.
11. Take Inventory And Plan For Spring
While cleaning up your Illinois garden, make notes about what worked well and what didn’t. I keep a garden journal noting which varieties thrived in our unpredictable Midwest weather patterns.
Photograph areas that need redesigning when spring arrives. After a disappointing display last summer, I completely reimagined my front border using fall photos as reference.
Create a wish list for spring planting, noting gaps in your garden’s design or bloom sequence. Many experienced Illinois gardeners I’ve met use winter months to research native plants that thrive in our specific growing conditions while supporting local pollinators.