Annual fight
Every fall I see landscapers and homeowners cut back their ornamental grasses just as they flower and look their best. Mid-September isn’t a good time to cut back ornamental grasses; it’s too early.
If you don’t have time to read the full blog post, then here’s your takeaway: cutback ornamental grasses in late winter or early spring, before they start actively growing. Until then, enjoy them. They look awesome moving in the breeze or covered in frost.
Biggest excuse
Now here’s the biggest excuse I hear from butchers who annihilate grasses in early fall: they’re out of shape!? A few stalks aren’t perfectly straight or rain beat down the whole grass, leaving the stems bent over and close to the ground. Now what? Grab power shears and make the grass go missing? No! There’s one more step you should consider.
Tie it up
I finally got to do this in the field recently: I found a Miscanthus grass disfigured by rain so I immediately grabbed a bit of string and tied it up. My helper held the grass up so I could run my string around it. I just had to get him to stop gripping the grass so tightly; there was some risk of running into his small package.
Once the grass was tied up, I anchored it to a nearby cedar hedge, discreetly. The foliage needed some adjusting; I think my string was a bit too high. You can tweak everything when you do it so you’re satisfied with the look.
If you don’t have string available, I’ve seen people use stalks from the grass. It looks awesome. In these cases the grass is tied up high.
I showed off my work and made it into a nice field lesson. So hopefully when the dudes run into out of shape ornamental grasses, their first instinct won’t be to annihilate the grass.
Conclusion
Cut back your ornamental grasses in late winter or early spring. Leave them alone in the fall so they can “ornament”. If rain or something else disfigures them, try to tie them up instead of reaching for power shears. You’ll be glad you did!
Check out Red Seal Vas and his work
