Should i prune my ornamental grasses

Ornamental grasses can fit into almost any garden theme. Ornamental grasses lend height, movement, and long season color to the landscape. Along with the proliferation of ornamental grasses have come a host of questions on how to care for them properly. Our most common questions are:. We will give you some general rules to follow when planting, cutting back, and dividing ornamental grasses. Grasses are generally classified as cool season, warm season, or evergreen.

The rules change just slightly depending on which type of grass you have. The best time to plant new ornamental grasses in your landscape is spring or early fall.

It can be tough to keep them watered well enough if planted in summer, so if you miss the spring window, aim to plant in early fall at least weeks before the first frost. Related: What to Plant with Ornamental Grasses. Warm-season grasses turn shades of brown as the weather turns colder. Once your warm-season grasses turn brown you can trim them back at almost any time.

If you like to tidy your garden in fall or if you live in an area where fire can be problematic trim warm-season grasses so they are just a few inches tall.

If you live in an area where fire generally isn't a problem you can leave the dried grasses and seed heads in your garden for winter interest. Snow or ice encrusted ornamental grasses can be quite beautiful. If you leave the trimming until spring try to make sure to cut them back to the ground you can leave a couple of inches by late spring, before new growth begins.

Not all ornamental grasses look good through the winter, trim back those that don't look good in the fall. Cool-season grasses tend to look good even as the weather cools. Leave their foliage in place until spring and then as soon as the snow is gone cut them back. Trimming cool-season grasses too harshly can irreparably harm the plant. First, find a good pair of gloves, thick leather gloves are probably best. Some ornamental grasses can have very sharp edges.

For smaller grasses a pair of pruning shears will probably be sufficient. For many grasses it is easier to tie the grass in a bundle before trimming, this makes clean up a snap.

For short grasses this might not be possible. If you have a large, established clump of grass, you may need to use a weed eater with a blade rather than string , electric or gas powered hedge trimmers, or even a chain saw. Once again, tie the tops together for easier clean up, just toss the bundles into your compost pile.

If you want tall grasses, you have to plant tall ones. Giant miscanthus Miscanthus x giganteus, syn. I have two zebra grass plants in my back yard that I have had for years. I cut them back in February early March which is a lot of work. I usually have to tie a rope around them to keep the branches upright. The old brown leaves will decompose and new ones will grow. If I comprehended that correctly, that would be fantastic. I cut back my grass in early spring but they have shown no sign of coming back.

Is this normal?? The shorter grasses are about a foot tall with a lovely green color. However the tall ones are showing nothing!! Thank you for this great advice! This is my first year with these grasses. I trimmed them down and I can see sprouts! How long do these take to reach their full heights? Full height, with flowers? Some as early as July, others as late as October! I cut my grasses back in March, I live near Ogden, Utah, but they show no signs of greening!

Have I inadvertently killed them?? I live in Central Oregon climate. Rather than remove dead ones one by one, want not leave them be this year… or cut off the the top part, above the new green leaves. Next year, you can cut them back earlier. The decision on how high you want it in your choice of space should be something you decided on when researching how this cool plant grows.

How do you expect it to grow 6 feet or higher if you whack it down every year? Let those things grow up and out and simply give it a trim, not a whack job annually. The entire plant will green up again. A good pair of gloves, a rake, and a trash can are all you need. Nor was the text specifically about pampas grass, but rather more general.

Good article. I was told by a friend who gave me the grasses to cut them down every year. The results have been good. I am at the age now that I would prefer not to do it. I like the green and brown mix. They were great last year whenthey were two years old, but this year there are a couple that have only dead brown stalks on one side of them while the other side is growing, although slowly, and it is now late July.

Can I dig up the half thatis dead without digging up the whole clump? Should I leave the rest of the plant as is and will it fill in? Thank you. Email Address. By the time spring comes around, many grasses, like this Miscanthus , are looking worse for the wear and cutting them back is definitely an option. Source: www. Source: francedesign. But not so fast! Unpruned grasses go through a bit of an ugly duckling phase as the new leaves come in, but be patient!

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Join the RHS today and support our charity Join now. Save to My scrapbook. Cutting back grass. Image: RHS. Quick facts.