Since there’s a chance that the strong El Niño will cause a warmer-than-normal winter in southern Wisconsin, I decided not to yank out my annuals after they died back this fall. Just because the plant matter above the ground is dead, doesn’t mean there isn’t some live action continuing underground. I usually have really good luck with rudbeckias returning. Last year the returning rudbeckias did better than most of the new ones I sprouted from seed.
I know I’m making a little more work for myself. Any seeds that the birds didn’t pluck out of the decaying plant matter will get scattered to the ground and sprout in my flowerbeds next spring. But I’m happy to trade a little weeding for the possibility that some of my annuals could survive winter and get a big head start.