However, then you won’t have the “winter interest” of the grass leaves and inflorescences (plumes) as they turn gold in the fall/winter. I live in the Northeast in areas 6-7. I bought 2 big beautiful Pampas grasses last year and they grew like crazy! Tie up the ornamental grass with string or cord to cinch the middle of the plant together. Some gardeners like the “neat and tidy” look over the winter, while others like the swaying and crackling grasses in the landscape. Many people cut back their clumps of ornamental native grasses as soon as they go dormant in the fall, or in early winter. Although grasses can be cut all the way to ground level, leaving a few inches above the ground is best. If you can already see some new green growth emerging as you prepare to trim the plant, just cut above it, being careful to not damage the new growth, otherwise all season long the plant will look like it has a crew cut. Just make sure the bundle does not unravel while you cut. Cutting Ornamental Grasses Back – How Far To Cut Clumps Back. The first is creeping grasses, the ones that produce long rhizomes and quickly form large colonies.Think of the common reed (Phragmites australis), a grass often seen in roadside ditches where, in certain cases, it has been known to spread for dozens of miles (kilometres), all from a single original rhizome.All creeping grasses … The Greens Get a Rake. If you live in a warmer climate, or if you are planting grasses that are winter hardy in your zone, when to cut them back is really a matter of preference. Some ornamentals, such as Fakahatchee grass (Tripsacum … If you notice that the grass is still well-grounded, you may want to switch to a hedge trimmer. Providing you don’t wait so long that the new foliage is already emerging, warm season grasses can be cut back to the ground. Another advantage of using hedge trimmers is that it will give you an even cut all the way across a clump of grass. Use a cordless (battery-operated) hedge trimmer to cut the grass down while another … I’m delighted to hear from you! Sure you do! Cut back ornamental grasses every late winter or early spring and divide them every three or four years to prevent them from thinning out and dying. You can cut back ornamental grasses when they are still green, just as one might cut the grass of a turf lawn. If you don't want to bother cutting them, why not just burn them while they're dormant? But they didn’t come back this year. 3. I have seen homes with huge Pampas grasses and they’re beautiful! Yes, you can safely cut back Stipa gigantea’s foliage to 6″ whenever needed. I’ve tried planting a few different types but after winter they never came back. The plant won't die, but its growth may be inhibited. Instead of cutting back your native grasses this winter, try leaving them instead and observe what happens. Shorter mature plants can be cut back to about three inches. Prune cool-season grasses back by two-thirds. Another advantage of keeping the green leaves is that they help feed the roots as … Use a hedge trimmer that's an inch or two longer than your clump of grass is wide, and you'll be able to cut the entire bunch back at once. Add Some Finishing Touches: While the most important step of cutting ornamental grasses is the actual cutting, there will almost always be a need to … And they come back … Warm-season grasses that are taller than three feet should be cut back to four to six inches from ground level. Cut off the dead foliage from last season 3-5 inches from the ground. Want a handy trick to cut back tall ornamental grasses? Here at the nursery, we don’t cut back anything until late February at the earliest. That's how warm season grasses have evolved, to cope with the ever present threat of fire, which results in lush new growth once the plant leaves dormancy. 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