Xeriscaping, or using plants with low water requirements, is a popular concept nowadays. Although this landscaping style is often advertised as being easy to maintain, it still requires some work from time to time. In the fall, tree leaves and other yard debris will still need to be removed in order to keep one’s lawn neat and tidy. Fortunately, cleaning up a xeriscape is relatively simple.
Pruning Your Plants
1Start your fall pruning early to make the process easier. You can begin your fall pruning in late summer when the days begin to cool. Remove any overgrowth, dying branches, or areas you intend to trim. Removing them now will prevent the leaves from blowing off and sticking to everything in your yard.
- Aggressive trimming in the late summer will also reduce the cutting back you need to do over the winter. Be careful not to trim certain plants like berries or fruiting trees until after the last harvest.
2Lay down a tarp or cloth. If there is a hard to clean area of your landscape (think sculpture gardens, ponds, or rosebushes) place burlap or another material over the ground when the first leaves fall.
- Weigh the area down with heavy rocks or ties to prevent the cloth from blowing away. Every few days fold the cloth in half and scoop the leaves out. Lay the cloth back down for as long as necessary.
- This trick works great for trees that bear fruit you don’t harvest. Lay the tarpaulin under the tree to stop the berries and fruit from creating a large, impossible to clean mess.
3Gather your tools. To prune your trees and plants, you will need a sharp pair of shears, a loppers, and a hand shears. If you’re pruning a plant larger than 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter you may need a hand or electric saw as well.
4Know when to prune your plant. While most plants are pruned in the dormant season (late winter) some plants like hydrangeas grow their buds in the fall and need to be pruned in late summer. Follow any instruction cards you received with your plant.
5Remove dead foliage. Remove any dead stems or leaves from your plant at the base of the plant, as these will not grow again. Removing them allows the plant to focus on new growth.
- Also prune back any diseased or poor performing stems.
6Prune your plant from the bottom up. When removing healthy stems to create shape, prune back as far as the branches or leaves to encourage healing. Don’t cut off the top.
- New pruners often work from the top down to bring the plant to size before removing smaller growth. This will cause the plant to retain some of its unwanted growth and disfigure the plant over several years.
- Instead, prune from the bottom of the plant and after removing the branches reduce the size to what you need.
Collecting the Leaves
1Pick up the leaves by hand. It's also possible to pick up the leaves up by hand. This is the most time-consuming method, but it definitely does work. However, this method is not advisable for anyone whose yard regularly contains more than a handful of stray leaves.
2Try using a leaf stabber. Gardeners may also want to use a leaf stabber in harder to reach places. This mechanism typically has a straight handle and a spike on the bottom. Some garden centers sell these devices or one can make their own at home.
- It’s easy to hammer a bent nail into an old broom handle or piece of wood, so that the nail pokes out of the end part. This homemade leaf stabber can be also used to pick up various forms of yard debris.
3Consider using a rake. In xeriscapes that have low-water lawns, gardeners can still remove their leaves using a rake. If the mulch or gravel covering the yard gets knocked out of place, it can easily be returned to its former area using the rake’s back side.
4Try sweeping the leaves. Gardeners can also sweep the leaves up with a broom. This a good task to perform on days when the weather has been dry for a while. If one doesn't sweep too enthusiastically, the xeriscape mulch or gravel should remain in place while the leaves are being removed.
5Give a leaf blower a try. Other gardeners have had some success using a leaf blower. This works for areas that don’t contain lightweight mulches, which will blow all over the place. Depending on the blower strength, even heavier materials may be moved about.
- Therefore, if you plan on using a blower, you should be prepared to spend some time sweeping or raking your mulch back into shape.
Disposing of the Leaves
1Compost the leaves. Gardeners will benefit from shredding the leaves prior to using them in compost or as mulch because this will help them to decompose more quickly. They can place the leaves in the compost pile or compost them separately.
- Be aware that black walnut tree leaves and those from eucalyptus trees contain chemicals that inhibit plant growth and shouldn't be composted.
2Use your leaves as mulch. When shredded, leftover leaves make an excellent mulch because they improve the soil quality and provide beneficial nutrients to a wide variety of plants.
3Use a lawn litter bag. A number of garden centers sell paper bags specifically designed to hold lawn litter. Gardeners that don’t plan on using their leaves should put them in the aforementioned bags and leave the leaf-filled sacks out by the curb for the city’s disposal crews to collect.
- Gardeners in rural areas may have to take their lawn debris to the county landfill themselves.
Getting Rid of Leaf-Dropping Plants Altogether
1Do away with leaves forever by removing large plants that produce a lot of leaves. Consider removing large plants that produce an excessive amount of leaves. While these plants may be lovely, if they're causing too much work you should consider replacing them with evergreen plants or statue gardens. Depending on the original plant you can usually find an evergreen that looks similar.
2Plant an Oregon Grape Holly. This is an evergreen plant that produces edible berries and turns bright red in the winter. Shade-loving and drought-tolerant Oregon Grape is an excellent choice for low-maintenance xeriscaping.
3Try Juniper shrubs. A popular evergreen shrub, junipers can be trained to nearly any size or need and function very well in xeriscaped lawns, even with very little natural rainfall.
4Add some Texas Ranger Sage to your yard. A large dramatic evergreen suited for curbs and borders. Standing nearly 2 feet (0.6 m) tall, this evergreen will bloom purple in the summer but does not lose its leaves in the fall, greatly reducing your workload as a result.
- Hand clear away leaves from small, newly-planted areas to avoid disrupting new growth.
- When all else fails, pay someone else! If you can invest some cash into your projects, there are always young teenagers willing to do simple, tedious house chores. Invest in some honest labor and find someone else to pick up all those leaves!
Sources and Citations
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center article
- Better Homes & Garden’s New Garden Book
- Plant Natural article
- University of Nevada xeriscaping article
Categories: Landscaping Equipment
In other languages:
Русский: убрать листья в саду в стиле ксерискейпинг, Español: retirar hojas de un jardín de xeriscape, Deutsch: Die Blätter aus einem Trockengarten entfernen, Português: Remover as Folhas do seu Jardim de Xeriscape
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