Maintaining Ornamental Grasses 

by | Jun 29, 2022 | Landscaping

An ornamental grass matches almost any texture, movement, height, and theme of your landscaping. They provide this benefit every season. However, you might have to cut down your ornamental grass if you’ve got ornamental grasses in your yard. This will help them grow next year. The ideal time to trim ornamental grasses depends greatly on the form of grass you’ve got.  

Here are several tips you can follow to improve the growth of your ornamental grasses of your landscaping Victoria BC: 

Dividing Ornamental Grass 

If you’re planning to divide ornamental grasses, you’ll require some tools. This includes: 

  • A sharp trowel, a knife, or a pruning shear. 
  • Shovel 
  • Gloves 

First, use a shovel to dig up a clump of grass. Make sure you use gloves to protect your hands. Divide the clump into a couple of pieces using a sharp trowel, a knife, or shears. Be sure every piece has some roots intact.  

You can just get rid of the tiny chunks from the outer edges of the main clump is still healthy and has not overgrown the space. Replant the divided pieces right away to prevent drying out of the roots. 

When to Divide Ornamental Grasses 

If you want to improve the amount of foliage in your landscape, you can divide ornamental grasses. This is particularly true if you don’t want to purchase more grasses. You can help the grass stay healthy and active if you do this every several seasons. You can also refresh the dead clump if you divide the ornamental grass. 

One tip you can follow is dividing the grass during the active growing season. Because of this, you’ve got to: 

  • Divide evergreen grasses in spring 
  • Divide cool-season grasses in early fall or spring 
  • Divide warm-season grasses from mid-summer and spring 

Cutting Back Ornamental Grasses 

The tools required to winterize and trim ornamental grasses include: 

  • A power hedge trimmer or pruning shears 
  • A roll of bungee cords or tape 
  • Gloves 

The first thing you should do is to protect your hands by wearing gloves. Before you start cutting, make sure you bundle up the stalks. This will help make the process of cleaning up a lot easy. When it comes to tying up ornamental grasses, you can utilize any bungee cords or wide tape. You might want to tie the grass in 2 to 3 spots if it is tall.  

When to Cut Back 

Usually, the grass is categorized as evergreen, warm season, or cool season. Each one has a bit different techniques regarding how and when to cut them. Here are a couple of tips to remember: 

  • Do Not Cut Back Evergreen Grasses 

You won’t have to cut back these grasses since they live through the cold months. 

  • Cut Back Cool-Season Grasses in Early Spring or Late Winter 

Do not do anything about the foliage until the last snowfall. 

  • Cut Back Warm-Season Grasses before Mid-Spring 

In the fall, trim warm-season ornamental grasses. This is particularly true if you enjoy a clean garden during the winter season. You can wait for mid-spring as well if you’re happy with its look.