| HOW DO YOU WINTER PAMPAS GRASS? DO YOU CUT DOWN THE FLOWERS AND LEAVES TO GROUND LEVEL? I PLANTED TWO LAST YEAR AND THEY DID BEAUTIFULLY, BUT THEY ARE STRUGGLING THIS YEAR. BOTH PLANTS HAVE ONLY A FEW LEAVES. WHAT COULD BE THE PROBLEM? STACEY |
| The pampas grasses (Cortaderia selloana) are considered winter hardy into zone 7 but your zip code places you in zone 6 -- a zone colder. So winter hardiness may simply be the problem. You might want to try a more cold tolerant grass than Cortaderia. Your local professional nursery staff should be able to show you some other options. Otherwise, if you want to try again, you can try mulching very heavily in late fall after the ground freezes and also wait until spring to cut them back. (The ornamental grasses are routinely cut down as short as possible, usually in early spring but it can be done in late fall after frost has killed the tops.) |
