Grasses develop their magnificent growth without extensive care. However, most ornamental grasses cannot do without pruning. In this tutorial you can read about when and how to cut grass in an exemplary manner.

Most grasses are only cut in the spring because they need their stalks to protect them from the cold

Table of Contents

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  1. grass growth differences
  2. Best time to cut
  3. Deciduous grasses
  4. Wintergreen grasses
  5. Prevent self-seeding
  6. cutting bamboo
  7. frequently asked Questions

    8. Differing growth dictates pruning rules

    For the perfect trimming of grasses, you should take into account the type-specific growth. Deciduous varieties are cut in a completely different way than wintergreen ornamental grasses. For better orientation, the following table distinguishes popular grasses according to their growth:

    Deciduous grasses botanical name Wintergreen to evergreen grasses botanical name
    China reeds miscanthus sedges Carex
    Japanese blood grass Imperata cylindrica var. koenigii 'Red Baron' Bearskin Fescue Festuca gautieri
    Sandpipe Grasses Calamagrostis blue fescue Festuca cinerea
    Feather Bristle Grasses Pennisetum alopecuroides var. viridescens Feather grasses, heron feather grasses Stipa
    lamp cleaning grasses Pennisetum alopecuroides pampas grasses Cortaderia
    equestrian grasses Calamagrostis Blue Ray Oats Helictotrichon sempervirens
    mosquito grass Bouteloua gracilis trembling grass Briza media
    moor grass Molinia arundinacea marble grasses Luzula
    flat spike grass Chasmanthium latifolium Switchgrass panic

    Spring is the best time to cut

    Regardless of their different growth patterns, grasses all pull together when it comes to when to cut. When the main frost period is over in spring, the time window for pruning opens. How long the time window remains open depends on various factors such as weather conditions, dedicated variety and microclimate at the location.

    Some types of grass take their time until summer to sprout. On other ornamental grasses, growth gets going when it no longer freezes at night. As soon as the first green stalks appear in the grass, it is high time for a pruning. Anyone who accidentally cuts into the fresh shoots will struggle with brown tips for the rest of the year.

    Cut deciduous grasses radically

    Beautiful and popular grasses thrive with deciduous stalks. In autumn, the leaves turn yellowish to straw-colored because the remaining nutrients are transferred to the roots. New, fresh green blades of grass do not appear from the base until next spring. The dead foliage functions as more important during the cold season winter protection. For this reason, cutting deciduous grasses in the fall is taboo. This is how you complete the perfect cut care:

    • Tie dried grass together in a tuft before winter
    • Cover the root disc with leaves and brushwood
    • Remove winter protection in spring
    • Cut back all stalks to a hand’s breadth above the ground

    The image below illustrates how to prune fountain pennise, feather bristlegrass and other deciduous grasses in late winter or early spring. Work yourself from the outside to the inside in stages. It is an advantage if a helper is available to receive the cut tufts. Even a light breeze is enough for the dry stalks to fly through the garden. Collecting the clippings afterwards takes more time than cutting back.

    Grasp the dead ornamental grass in tufts with one hand. With a perennial sickle in the other hand, cut off the dry stalks just above the ground.

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    Perennial sickle masters grass clippings in bunches

    You are perfectly equipped for cutting grass with a Japanese perennial sickle. With a handy sickle and a handle made of the wood of the blue bell tree, the traditional tool is reminiscent of a miniature scythe. The fine-toothed cutting blade made of pure carbon steel is so sharp that even woody stalks of bamboo and thin twigs in shrubs can be cut off effortlessly. The grass sickle only cuts under tension and not under pressure, which guarantees additional safety.

    Prune wintergreen grasses moderately

    On wintergreen grasses, the change of leaves goes almost unnoticed. For this reason, gardeners refer to sedge, pampas grass, and similar types of grass as evergreen. This growth behavior requires a different pruning than on deciduous varieties. In the spring, focus on individual dead or damaged stalks. All other leaves are spared from the scissors or garden sickle. This is how you properly take care of cutting wintergreen grasses:

    • Put on sturdy gloves and long-sleeved clothing
    • Cut off dead stems with seeds at the base
    • Comb through a clump of grass with both hands

    A hard winter with severe frost does not leave wintergreen grasses untouched. As a result, all stalks die off, so that in late winter there is no longer any difference to deciduous grass species. In this case, cut off all the leaves to within a hand’s breadth of the ground. On grass giants, such as pampas grass, master the cut with hedge trimmers.(77.00€) More delicate grasses, such as fescue species, cut in clumps with garden shears or herbaceous sickles.

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    Most grasses arm themselves sharp stalk edges against predators. With this strategy they want to spoil the appetite of insatiable herbivores. Gardeners are at risk of deep cuts if their skin comes into unprotected contact with razor-sharp blades of grass. Please do not take care of the cut until you have robust ones working gloves carry.

    Prevent self-seeding

    No rule without exception. This also applies to cutting grass with regard to the correct cutting time. Various species tend to invasively spread in the garden using myriad seeds. The focus is on pampas grass, grass hair grass or blue fescue. Put a stop to the floral urge to conquer by cutting off all the stems with infructescence in autumn. In return, you do without the opulent seed heads, which set decorative accents in the winter garden.

    Special case: bamboo cut

    From a botanical point of view, bamboo is one of the grasses. In contrast to classic ornamental grasses, bamboo thrives with perennial stalks. Although a culm becomes lignified over time, pruning does not have a beneficial effect on growth. On the contrary, a stem that has been cut off will no longer grow upwards. Rather, new culms are constantly being formed, which arise directly from the underground rhizome. Cutting bamboo is primarily aimed at a neat appearance. How to do it right:

    • The best time is in spring
    • Cut off dead stems at the base
    • Thin out a third or half of faded, over-aged culms

    Annual thinning of perennial, pale culms acts as continuous regeneration, comparable to pruning shrubs. As over-aged shoots give way, more light enters a bamboo. Fresh green stalks will not be long in coming. On some types of flat bamboo, you stimulate the growth of new, colorful stalks with this pruning measure.

    There is nothing wrong with cutting off individual, damaged or kinked stalks during the gardening season. This works perfectly on woody handles outdoors with a handy folding saw. Inside the plant, remove a bamboo stalk with a pair of pruning shears that have telescopic arms.

    Repair snow pressure damage

    The most beautiful umbrella bamboo species (Fargesia) thrive with thinner stalks than flat-tube bamboo species (Phyllostachys). As a result, the stems bend to the ground or break off under a thick snow cover. Snow pressure damage is a common reason to prune Fargesia bamboo. How to proceed professionally:

    • Cut back damaged stems by a third or half
    • Apply scissors below a break point
    • Trim inclined culms under the incline

    Do not cut damaged stalks at ground level. By limiting the extent of the cut to the battered area, the undamaged part with its side shoots continues to make a valuable contribution to the decorative appearance.

    Thin out flat-tube bamboo and umbrella bamboo every spring. Cut off dead stems at the base. Then remove a third to a quarter of the faded, over-aged stalks of flat-tube bamboo. This clears the way for young, colorful bamboo shoots. Cut umbrella bamboo only when necessary.

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    Habitat protection involves grasses

    Most home gardeners are familiar with Section 39 of the Federal Nature Conservation Act, because the pruning of hedges and trees is precisely regulated here. It should not be overlooked that the protection of wild animals refers to all habitats. In the dense eyrie of opulent ornamental grasses, a wide variety of animal species like to settle down to raise their offspring or spend the winter here. Before you cut, comb out or thin out your grass, you should make sure that there are no feathered or furry guests in it. If you find what you are looking for, please postpone the editing to a later date.

    frequently asked Questions

    How can I tell if I can still cut my ornamental grass in spring?

    After the end of the frost period, the time window for cutting grass opens. The new shoots can be seen on fresh green stalks that are constantly gaining height. Depending on the general weather and the microclimate in your garden, growth usually starts in May. A mild winter also allows the new culms to sprout earlier.

    Should I cut back my Japanese bloodgrass in the fall?

    For all grasses, it is strongly recommended to tie the stalks together in a loose tuft before winter. This measure protects the sensitive heart of the plant from frost and excessive moisture. Only in spring do you subject your Japanese blood grass to a cut up to a hand's breadth above the ground.

    Does a Japanese sedge have to be cut at all?

    Sedge grasses thrive with evergreen culms. This growth does not require pruning as is advisable with deciduous grasses. It is advantageous for a well-groomed appearance if you comb out your Japanese sedge in the spring. Put on sturdy gloves and drive through the grass with both hands. Dead stalks stick between your fingers as if by themselves and can be disposed of.

    Our 5-year-old Chinese reed has sprout magnificently every spring after being cut. Only a few stalks are growing at the edge this year. No budding can be seen in the middle. What to do?

    A harsh winter can cause Chinese reeds to sprout later in the year. If no new culms form by summer, the center is compacted or over-aged. In this case, stimulate growth by picking up and dividing the grass in the fall. Take this opportunity to cut off massively compacted root areas. Plant the ball parts in fresh potting soil and then water them generously and regularly.

    My blue fescue is turning yellow on the outside and looks downright scruffy overall. Should I cut or not?

    Various causes can significantly affect a blue fescue grass. A hard, wet winter or weeks of drought will cause the stalks to turn yellow. Frequently, voles have nibbled at the roots, so that the supply is impaired. Although blue fescue is one of the wintergreen grasses, you can cut off all of the stalks to a hand’s breadth above the ground. Then put the general conditions to the test in order to find and eliminate the cause.

    Our blue ray oats are starting to grow. Even at a great distance numerous culms sprout from the ground. What to do?

    In all probability, these are seedlings, because blue-ray tiger does not form any expansive runners. In good years, the grass spreads countless seeds in the garden, which germinate and grow within a short time. If these offspring are undesirable in the garden, simply pull the young plants out of the ground. In the future, you can prevent the spread by cutting out all the stems with infructescence from the grass in late summer.

    In front of my seat in the garden I would like to plant a hedge made of giant Chinese reed. When and for how long do I have to do without the privacy factor?

    Chinese reed is cut back close to the ground in spring because all the stalks have died. Rapid growth then sets in, with the stalks reaching a height of 2 to 3 metres. This process takes between 2 and 3 months, depending on the weather. Under normal conditions, budding begins in April, so that you are protected from prying eyes behind a Chinese reed hedge from the beginning/mid-June.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    A wrong cutting time brings grasses to despair, as does improper cutting. The following overview draws attention to three common cutting errors that drive an ornamental grass to the brink of ruin. Practical tips indicate effective prevention:

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    cut in the fall frozen stalks to total failure Cut grass in spring
    evergreen grasses blended like deciduous species patchy growth, failure of the spike flower comb out wintergreen grasses
    never cut or combed out premature aging, dense tangle of old and young culms Cut off dead stems every spring
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    tips

    The uncomplicated trimming makes grasses the ideal components for creative front garden design. Magnificent varieties such as dwarf pampas grass 'Evita' (Cortaderia selloana) and garden reed grass 'Karl Foerster' (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) are very popular as a decorative welcoming committee. Gold star moss 'Aurea' (Sagina Subulata) is useful as an easy-care lawn substitute.

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Indoor plants