Hostas and other perennials - do you let them die back, or cut them down?

[vette-kid]

I also just remove the dead vegetation as it dies off. Cannas will pop out very easily once dead. Just a slight tug and they separate from the rhizome. A lot of my palms stay green through the winter, I really just have the Canna and some stargazer lilies

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Some yard customers have me cut the perennials down in the Autumn.
Some yard customers have me cut the previous year's growth in the Spring.
Some yard customers have me cut some perennials in the Autumn and wait until the Spring to take care of the rest of the old perennial growth.

 

[Fernsdaddy]

When cutting back in the fall I never cut any plants back if it has seeds the the birds will eat over the winter.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

When cutting back in the fall I never cut any plants back if it has seeds the the birds will eat over the winter.

For the large hosta's I tried for one winter to leave those seeds alone, birds don't like them, so they are cut off. the medium or smaller hosta's seem to be on the birds menu.