There’s something deeply satisfying about flower farming in the fall. After a long summer of blooming, harvesting, and weed-pulling, we shift into a slower rhythm and cooler temperatures – with the end of the season and the promise of a winter’s rest in sight.

While the fields are still full of beauty in September, our priorities this time of year are balanced between finishing the current season strong and preparing the farm for next year. We’re taking stock of what worked on the farm this year, clearing away what’s finished blooming, and caring for the soil and structures that carry us through each growing season.

Below, I’ve broken down our fall prep by Flourish’s different growing areas and the attention each area needs. Whether you're managing your own flower farm or tending to a home cutting garden, we hope this list offers inspiration and structure for your own seasonal transitions.

Dahlia Field

The dahlia field is still bursting with color in early fall, and we’re harvesting constantly for our fall weddings, elopements, and events. But fall is also the time to start evaluating what stays and what goes, as well as how we can set ourselves up for success next year.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll walk the rows and flag the dahlia varieties we want to keep or remove based on their performance, color, and productivity. It’s best to do this before your first frost while the plants are still blooming, so you can be sure you’re correctly identifying each dahlia variety.

Once the dahlias are finished for the season, usually in late October for our zone 6b/7a, we’ll remove the support netting from the dahlias and pull out the alyssum we interplant in the dahlia field for weed suppression. Then, we use a powerful blade trimmer to cut through the thick dahlia stalks and remove the foliage debris from the field.

Since we’ve already flagged our dahlias by this point, we still know what tubers are left in the field. We will dig up any that we want to remove or store for the winter.

If you want to read more about how we overwinter our dahlias, including details about how to dig and store your tubers, here’s our blog post on Overwintering Dahlias.

This year, we’re considering a full overhaul of our dahlia field, so I took soil samples from the field earlier this month to check the soil’s nutrient levels. The results say that we need more organic matter, as always, so we will add high-quality compost to the beds next spring.

Fall Dahlia Tasks:

Flag dahlia varieties to keep or remove. Do this while the plants are in bloom so you know what’s what
Remove netting and support structures as plants begin to fade
Cut down dahlia plants using a sharp blade or loppers once frost hits
Optional: Dig and store your dahlias for winter
Optional: Cover crop the dahlia field for winter to improve soil health, or plan to add compost in the spring

Peony Field

While peony blooms are a distant springtime memory, the peony field needs a little bit of attention in the fall to ensure a bountiful harvest next spring.

Peonies are particularly prone to fungal and bacterial diseases, so removing the foliage at the end of the season is essential for long-term plant health. Because peonies grow new shoots and foliage from the ground up each spring, the old foliage is not needed, and leaving it can spread disease among your plants.

Once the foliage turns coppery brown or black in the fall, we will cut the entire plant down to the ground. To make this task a little less labor-intensive, we use a battery-powered hedge trimmer (like the one linked in our list of Farm and Garden Supplies).

Sanitation is very important during peony removal. We sanitize our tools and are careful about how we dispose of the foliage debris to prevent the spread of disease.

This blog post has a more detailed overview of fall peony care.

Fall Peony Tasks:

Cut back peonies all the way to the ground after the leaves turn black or coppery brown
Collect and remove all debris on tarps and dispose of it far from growing beds to reduce disease risk
Sanitize tools after use to prevent spreading fungal issues

Annual Fields

Our annuals (like zinnias, cosmos, delphinium, scabiosa, celosia, verbena, and more) have given us so much color throughout the summer. But by September, many of our annual rows are winding down for the year.

Similar to the dahlia field, we’ll remove the netting before cutting down spent plants with our battery-powered hedge trimmer. Plant debris will be composted, and we’ll remove any landscape fabric in covered areas or that needs to be replaced.

We have two sections in our main field where we grow our annuals. This year, we grew in one space while the other section rested beneath a silage tarp. This fall, we’ll remove that silage tarp and begin prepping our new annual space for next year. That means spreading compost and rebuilding the beds before spring planting.

Fall Tasks for Annual Flowers:

Cut back spent annuals and compost healthy plant matter
Roll up landscape fabric carefully for reuse next season
Consider adding compost or cover-cropping beds that will be planted early next spring

Perennials & Woodies

Fall is one of the best times to plant new perennials. We’re spending time this fall in our perennial field planting new varieties to get established before winter, and removing any plants that didn’t thrive or no longer suit our needs.

This year at Flourish, we’ll be removing roses that aren’t producing enough for the space they take up and digging up blueberry plants to relocate to a new space on the farm. We’re also planting new varieties of hydrangea, columbine, astilbe, and more.

Fall Tasks for Perennial Flowers & Shrubs:

Remove underperforming or diseased plants from perennial beds
Plant new perennials, giving them time to establish roots before winter
Cut back and clean up established perennials, but avoid heavy pruning on woody stems until the late winter/early spring

High Tunnels

Our two high tunnels get a complete reset before winter planting begins.

Since the fall sun is less harsh than summer sun, we’ll soon remove the shade cloth from the tunnels (and our greenhouse) to allow more light as days get shorter. Then, we’ll till the soil and spread compost in the tunnels before planting them full of spring-blooming flowers.

Later in the fall (I’m aiming for the first week of November), I’ll pre-sprout our ranunculus and anemone corms before planting them directly into the tunnels before the end of the year. You can read more about that process here. These flowers overwinter beautifully and give us some of our first blooms in the spring.

Fall Tasks for High Tunnels:

Remove shade cloth to allow more light into the tunnels with shorter days
Till and amend beds with compost as needed
Pre-sprout ranunculus and anemones (early November is our go-to window)
Plant pre-sprouted ranunculus and anemones into tunnel beds for winter growing
Optional: Install or test row cover for extra frost protection later in the season

Behind the Scenes

Beyond the flower fields, there’s always behind-the-scenes work that keeps the farm running smoothly. Fall is a great time to tackle storage areas, evaluate your systems, and prep supplies for winter and early spring.

Our Other Fall Tasks:

Pot up fall plant starts or plugs for our fall plant sale at the farmstand
Organize the shed, sort through tools, and take stock of what needs repair or replacement
Order supplies and restock things like irrigation parts, row cover, and seed starting soil for next season

Fall farm work is a different kind of busy. It’s less urgent, more reflective, but just as important as harvesting peak season blooms. It’s a time to care for the land, make thoughtful changes, and prepare for everything that’s to come.

Whether you're winding down your backyard beds or putting your flower farm to bed for the season, taking time to reset in fall will set you up beautifully for spring. We’re always grateful for this in-between season: part rest, part reset, and full of possibility.

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Farm Tasks For Fall