The correct time to cut back ornamental eatage calculate on the character of grass and whether the garden can do good from the ocular appeal of grass through the winter .
Warm-Season Grasses
Warm - time of year cosmetic grasses are especially well - adjust to warm climate , and they grow most vigorously when temperature are warm in mid - summer . They usually start to turn browned and go sleeping as the weather condition cools in the decline , and they tend not to produce raw development until well into the spring when temperature start to rise .
Because of this growth cycle , warm - season grasses can be cut back either in the fall after they ’ve gone dormant or in the other spring before new growth start . Some ornamental grasses are attractive even in the wintertime , so you may want to leave the old growth in place until the leaping .
Tip
Cut the tender - time of year grasses back nearly all the way to the ground , and if you prune in the saltation , prune betimes enough that you ’re not turn off back newfangled shoots .
Examples of warm - time of year ornamental grasses include fountain grass ( Pennisetum alopecuroides ) , which is brave in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 to 9 , and plume grass ( Erianthus ravennae ) , hardy in USDA zones 5 to 10 .
Cool-Season Grasses
In dividing line to warm - time of year grasses , nerveless - season Gunter Wilhelm Grass do most of their growing early in the spring and in the fall when temperature are coolheaded . Because their wintertime foliation is often attractive , the good time to trim them back is in the spring . Cool - season weed tend to start new growth significantly earlier than affectionate - season grasses do , however , so be sure to prune them very ahead of time in the bound before novel shoots appear .
Do n’t prune nerveless - time of year grasses all the fashion to the ground as you would with warm - season grasses . Instead , leave one - third of the older growth in place .
Examples of cool - season decorative sens include tufted hair sess ( Deschampsia caespitosa ) and silver spike grass ( Spodiopogon sibiricus ) , both of which are dauntless in USDA zones 4 to 9 .
Pruning Process
pocket-sized , short clumps of eatage can be cut back with pruning shear , but large chunk of tall grass species may postulate a string trimmer , a major power hedgerow pruner or even a chainsaw . Tie up declamatory clumps into bundles before pruning so you ’ll have easy access to the groundwork of the plant .
Because some grass leave have abrupt edges , bear long sleeve and pants , heavy glove and eye protection while you ’re pruning .
Pruning Reasons
Evergreen smoke do n’t go dormant like warm- and cool - season grasses , but they can becut backby two - thirds every two to three years to rejuvenate the plants .
When grass are taint by pest such as the fungous contagion commonly call rust , cutting the Gunter Wilhelm Grass back may control the infection . Dispose of the lop foliage and disinfect pruning peter between cuts to invalidate spread the transmission .
