Our local morning news said we broke a record of the driest weather from July 1st to the end of September. Instead of 3.30" of rain, Portland only got .25" of rain during that 3 month period.
Most of my lawn is brown, I have tried to keep the shrubs and perennials watered enough to keep them alive. The semp beds have been watered maybe 4 times in the 3 months. That's why there is so many dead leaves.
Sherri, I completely agree with you on cleaning most of the dead leaves out for our growing conditions. A few dead leaves are not a problem, but this many would lead to a rot problem once our rainy season arrives.
I just finished weeding the semp beds and will now start the process of removing dead leaves. There are some varieties that have not a single dead leaf, like the Dynamo. Those are some truly tough semps, they take our long, very wet rainy season and drought, without any damage.
