How do I care for my grasses? - Knowledgebase Question

Colorado Springs, Co
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Question by janjbridges
March 7, 2010
Spring is coming and I need to know how to care for the various decorative grasses we planted last year. I don't mean our lawn grass. I can't remember the name of all of them but they are Japanese grasses of some sort. And one purple grass with cattails on the ends. Should I cut them all back? Or will they just turn green again? I am not sure what to do with them. Your help is GREATLY appreciated.


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Answer from NGA
March 7, 2010
Different ornamental grasses respond to different care tactics. The blades won't green up once they've died down for the winter so you can safely remove the dead foliage now. Cut it down or comb it out. I use rubber gloves and simply comb my fingers through the grass, pulling up to remove the dead blades. If the clumps are small it's an easy process. This way the old blades are pulled off at random lengths and I think the clump looks more natural when the new blades emerge and grow through the stubs. Or you can simply take a weed whacker and cut everything down to a few inches above ground level. Pampas grass is a little more difficult to trim. The leaves or blades do green up in the spring, but cutting the entire plant down should be done every 3-4 years. Hope this sheds some light on the process!

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