Thanks for the question. It certainly is a timely one.

As you mentioned in your question, cutting back a pollinator garden in the spring needs to be carefully timed. Here are my thoughts:

1). Keep an eye on the weather forecasts for Ramsey County for the next two or three weeks. Once you see that the night temperatures largely remain above freezing, it would be time to do some raking and removing of loose plant debris from the top of the soil in the garden. Don’t be too neat in doing this. This debris may contain immature insect pollinators and/or their eggs. You want to leave some debris on the garden until these insects mature and leave. The ground litter that you do not immediately remove should be thin enough so that new plant growth will be able to push through it. Also keep in mind that there may be seeds in the soil that were released by your plants last fall. You want to provide some litter cover for them as they begin to germinate. Finally, any litter that remains in the garden will provide good compost.

2). Once you start seeing new growth emerging in your garden, it's a good indication that it's time to get more vigorous about cutting back. However, you will want to do this with the least amount of disturbance to the new, emerging growth. It would be optimal to do this cutting back so that about a foot or so of the old plant stems remain above ground level. This will provide additional habitat for any immature insects and/or eggs remaining from 2023. The best way to cut back, albeit labor intensive, is with a hand pruning shears. Obviously if you are dealing with a large area, this may not be practical. Using some type of mower can be a bit drastic as its wheels may crush new growth. In my gardens, I prefer to use a heavy duty “weed whacker” or something similar. I can then cut most stems at a level about a foot above the soil. By watching where I step, I usually avoid perturbation to any new growth.

3). Again with an acknowledgement to the old growth possibly harboring immature pollinators, consider gently raking up the old growth that you have just cut and place in some obscure place until early June. By that time, adult pollinators would have matured and left the plant debris. This debris could then be composted.

4). Throughout your garden preparation this spring, be cautious about using pesticides, as they can harm pollinators and other beneficial insects.

As Master Gardeners, we applaud your efforts in establishing a pollinator garden. It is a very fine thing to do. Good luck and please get back to us if you have any further questions.