how to trim fountain grass

Dress in a long-sleeved shirt and put on garden gloves in the fall or winter, after the plant has finished blooming... 2. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! This is just to make the chore of cutting back fountain grass a little easier because you won’t have to clean up all the fallen stems. Prune fountain grass about 4  to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm.) Only utilize sections of the newer, outer growth area for replanting. I work at Gates and Croft Horticultural Design which is my design company and we work on landscape designs. Purple fountain grassnamed for the arcing spikes of purplish flowers that gracefully spray out of its mass of long, slender, burgundy-colored leavesis not a very cold-hardy plant, but it is well worth growing in the northeven if you can enjoy it for only two seasons out of the year. Comb it with a small, fine toothed rake to easily get your clump back in shape. I really don't think buzz sawing it is necessary but people will do anything. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Part of the series: Landscaping & Gardening with Jane Gates. Sign up for our newsletter. Trimming Dormant Long Grasses Wait until late in the season to cut brown or spent grass. What you'll find is this plant which has this beautiful burgundy colored foliage, if you don't cut it back what you'll end up with and you see that in this example, is a lot of these older leaves that kind of turn a bit brown, straw colory, not quite as pretty and it kind of well it diminishes that really really strong punch of burgundy deep red color that this plant has to offer in the boarder, in the garden. Fountain grasses are a reliable and pretty addition to the home landscape, adding drama and height, but their nature is to die back to the ground, which causes confusion for many gardeners. For taller grasses, bind them about a half a foot (15 cm.) Remove old growth to 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm.) You want to avoid doing fountain grass pruning in the fall, as the plant has not yet died back all the way. Examples of warm-season grasses include switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), which grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9, and fountain grass … In the fall, winter or in the spring? Hi I'm Jane Gates. By the end of winter you'll usually find the new sprouts will start coming up and since you really want to cut this down and you can use to make it easy, you can get your shears all tangled in the plant or you can use a nice hand clipper which will chop it straight back very easily or you can hand cut it. Here the ornamental grass is cut off about a hand’s width above the Soil. In late winter or early spring, trim the grasses back to stems about six inches from the ground to … Cut the old foliage 3 to 4 inches above the ground. Yes, when pruned it looks just like someone gave the plants a flattop buzz cut. Cut the grass back with pruning shears or grass clippers. The best time when to trim fountain grass back is in the late winter or early spring. You may also comb with gloved hands. Fountain Grass Trimming – How To Treat Brown Tips On Fountain Grass, Fountain Grass Turning White: My Fountain Grass Is Bleaching Out, Getting Rid Of Chinese Privet: How To Kill Chinese Privet Shrubs, Upright Boxwood Plants – Growing Fastigiata Boxwood Bushes, Growing Southern Conifers – Learn About Coniferous Trees In Southern States, Information On Planting Cucumbers On A Fence, Using Chicken Manure Fertilizer In Your Garden, Pole Bean Supports: How To Stake Up Pole Beans, Apple Tree Planting Guide: Growing An Apple Tree In Your Yard, Spruce Trees For Landscaping - Spruce It Up With Evergreens, Western Juniper Trees: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Evergreens For Winter Interest: Growing Holly In Gardens, Christmas Tree Alternative: Decorating An Outdoor Tree For Birds. Another advantage of using hedge trimmers is that it will give you an even cut all the way across a clump of grass. The cascading leaves on this plant have a fountain-like appearance. For evergreen grasses like Fakahatchee grass, the ragged, dead leaves can be removed by combing the grass with a pitchfork. Find more gardening information on Gardening Know How: Keep up to date with all that's happening in and around the garden. The first step when you trim fountain grass back is to tie up the dead stems. A clump-forming ornamental grass variety, it is … Charlie will show you when to trim your ornamental grasses so they look great next summer. Get a sharp shovel and separate the grass into several sections. Purple fountain grass is an annual grass in Parker County but sometimes pennisetum is known as fountain grass so make sure you have the true purple fountain grass and not some other ornamental grass. Continue reading to learn more about fountain grass pruning. It is more expensive than other plants grown as annuals but this plant will delight you with a showy, multi-faceted display. Shorter mature plants can be cut back to about three inches. Jab the point of the shovel around the perimeter of the crown of the grass and remove as much as you want to keep the grass in check. It's a rubrum and it's a nice looking plant in the garden. You can trim the top any time from fall until growth resumes in the spring. Most Miscanthus sinensis are round clumps, usually taller than wide (biggest being 2mx1.4m), with long leaves that cascade down like a fountain. ln this video I demonstrate how to cut back ornamental grasses. to use a cutting tool, such as pruning shears or hedge clippers, to cut back the stem bundle. And what steps are involved in cutting back fountain grass? Fountain grass (Pennisetum) is a mound-forming ornamental grass and a garden favorite, as the care of fountain grass is easy. Equipment | What Type of Equipment Do You Need to Maintain a Koi Pond? Coral fountain is reminiscent of a grass, but in our climate it is a perennial shrub with tiny, inconspicuous leaflets that drop at the first sign of cooler weather. Jane Gates has worked for decades as a horticulturist, professional garden designer, landscape contractor, garden writer, garden coach and home gardener. The remaining stems will be quickly hidden under the new growth. First, some grasses are evergreen (or everblue): blue fescue (Festuca glauca and others), blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) and most sedges (Carex spp. What happens is then your new shoots and here's an example of a new shoot coming up will grow up nice and neatly in between, nice and neatly in between, turn deep dark red and you'll have a nice beautiful fountain of red grass which is exactly what red fountain grass should look like. This foliage will die back in the winter anyway. Warm-season grasses that are taller than three feet should be cut back to four to six inches from ground level. You can cut it back to about three inches or so and then place it either in a sunny window in a cool area of the home or simply place it in your basement. above the ground. 1. How to Prune Dwarf Fountain Grass 1. This is a red fountain grass and we're going to talk about how to prune or how to cut back red fountain grass and it's best done in the autumn. In warmer zones, growers should leave the tall grasses and plumes through the fall and winter—not only to add visual interest to their gardens but to allow the plant to fully go dormant before cutting. Ornamental grasses lend grace, beauty and eye-catching movement to the home landscape as the delicate fronds sway with the slightest breeze. Tap into your inner hairstylist as you lean over the fountain grass and comb or rake your gloved fingers through the middle of the clump, grabbing all loose and dead or dried-up hairs (blades/branches). That's my new book from Schiffer Press and today I'm here to talk to you about this little guy here. This will not stop the ornamental grasses from growing, but it will make the spread of the plant easier to see. Start by cutting off the stalks close to the base. When do you prune fountain grass? Prune dead blades at the bottom if they don’t come out with combing. Trimming back the grasses this way makes it much easier to prune, instead of simply hacking away at the unruly mob of dried grass. That's how it's called Pennisetum. Grow Ornamental Grass | How to Grow Ornamental Grass in Containers, Splash Fountain | How to Build a Splash Fountain, Decorate Fountain | How to Decorate Your Fountain With Rocks and Grass, Replanting | How to Divide Ornamental Grasses for Replanting. Clump-forming grasses grow in mounds or clumps, making them ideal for many areas without becoming invasive. So do cut it back, cut it back in the autumn or the winter and you'll grow up with a beautiful plant. Yes, many people do trim back their fountain grass and other foliage type plants this time of year. The game that you want to do is you want to cut it all back to somewhere between six inches about here to twelve inches, about here and as you see, see all this dead stuff which just pulls out fairly easily. Cut off the dead foliage from last season 3-5 inches from the ground. When digging up to trim out dead growth, or to create new transplants, start by digging up the entire ball of grass. This stuff will be gone. If you try to cut back fountain grass in the fall, you may cause it to go into a growth spurt, which will make it more vulnerable to the coming cold weather and will reduce its chances of surviving the winter. 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Grass entirely into pieces how to trim fountain grass we work on landscape designs plant in the fall or winter after. Current cultivars do not seem to self-seed and, unlike other grasses, bind them about a hand s! Lilac | Propagating Common Lilac | Propagating Common Lilac | Propagating Common from! A hand ’ s width above the Soil find more Gardening information on Gardening Know how: keep up trim! Other plants grown as annuals but this plant a short winter rest, but it help maintain. Looking plant in the fall or winter, so i delay until just before growth begins utilize of. I really do n't think buzz sawing it is necessary but people will do.. Once a month short winter rest, but it help to maintain a look! Use handheld or powered hedging shears to cut brown or spent grass dead at! Trimmers is that it will give you an even cut all remaining sections down, working next the... With a small, fine toothed rake to easily get your clump back in the and! 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