Should I cut back perennials in spring or fall?

Cutting back perennials in the fall is old-school. We need to appreciate plants at every stage of their life cycle, whether they are looking wonderful or freeze-dried. If you leave the tops on through the winter, they help protect the crowns from freezing, and they provide habitat for birds. The more we follow nature, the better. Nature doesn't cut everything back in the fall. So you can do it in late winter or early spring. It gives you something useful to do when you are eager to garden but the soil is still too damp to dig!