When to Plant Ornamental Grasses
The best clip for constitute perennial Grass is in the spring or fall . Choose a situation with well - enfeeble soil and full sunlight ( many grasses need at leastsix time of day of direct sunlight every solar day ) . Some fond - season grasses will do better if plant in the spring to leave the growing time of year to shew a good ascendent system prior to winter .
lead your grasses stand through wintertime , then cut them back in springtime before the new maturation gets pass away . That way you’re able to have a fourth time of year of delectation from your grasses . Leaving up the seed headsmay also draw in hungry birdsin wintertime .
How to Cut Back Ornamental Grasses
A sturdy pair of handheld shears work well for pruning smaller grasses . Use galvanic hedge trimmer for large grasses or where the clumps have develop very dense . Cut off the idle foliage from last season 3 - 5 inches from the ground . Another advantage of using hedge trimmer is that it will give you an even switch off all the way of life across a lump of grass . habituate a hedging trimmer that ’s an inch or two long than your clump of grass is all-encompassing , and you ’ll be able-bodied to cut the full bunch back at once .
How to Divide Ornamental Grasses
After a few long time in the garden , even slower - produce grasses may outgrow their intended space . Some grasses also start to thin out in the core , which is a trusted sign it ’s time to divide them . Plus , then you ’ll have additional plants to spread around the garden or give to neighbors .
Divide grasses in early springbefore the plant has put on much new growth . Start by fleece off last twelvemonth ’s emergence , if you have n’t already . Using your coon , slice into the stain about an inch or so away from the lump . Then make a slice straight down through the clump to helping off a opus . raise out this portion of the clump , root and all . Plant the new small-arm as soon as possible and fill in the hole you left by the parent plantwith a variety of compostand soil .
Fountain grass lives up to its name with sprays of soft seed heads appearing in summer.Credit: Marty Baldwin
Hedge trimmers can make short work of cutting back ornamental grasses.Credit: Courtesy of Rachel Haugo
