dogwalker said:
Let the foliage just die back?
Cut back the foliage for easier clean up in the spring?
And is there any advantage to either way?
The advantages for the plant versus the advantages for the gardener may not quite amount to the same thing. Letting the leaves die back on their own schedule allows the plant to keep making food to use or store for as long as conditions are suitable (think photosynthesis), which may help it get through the upcoming winter. When you cut the leaves you're potentially diminishing the plant's food manufacturing capability and if you do it too early it may try to regrow using food it was planning to store instead. Presumably also the plant may be extracting mineral nutrients from those leaves as they turn yellow and die. It's quite easy to remove dead foliage in spring, it pulls away more easily than in fall.
