Tips On Trimming Ornamental Grass

Are you looking into trimming ornamental grass and want to know how to maintain their beautiful looks? Did you know that you can easily manage and trim them back to the length that you want them to be?

Get to know the tips on trimming ornamental grass by reading the information below.

How to Trim Ornamental Grass

One of the greatest addition to your landscape are ornamental grasses because of the beautiful texture that they have. In fact, they add beauty to every garden no matter what season and they are low maintenance, so you don't have to worry about anything at all.

The only thing that you need to worry about is to know when and how you can do the cutting of the ornamental grass that you have. For people who don’t know, there is certain ornamental grass that can’t be trimmed using the usual trimming rules. 

This is mainly because ornamental grasses will require certain techniques and timing for them to be able to look great after the pruning process.

Since there are a lot of decorative grasses today, you need to know what category they fall into, for you to ensure that you are going to do the right thing.

Here are the tips on trimming and pruning ornamental grass depending on their categories:

Trimming Ornamental Grass by Category

Trimming Small Ornamental Grass that Goes Dormant

These are Japanese blood grass, Japanese forest grass, fountain grass, and switch grass. They can be trimmed annually during the late fall or in the middle of the spring season.

You can start trimming these grasses once they start turning brown, though you can also use them during the snowy season to create sculptural sentinels.

For you to be able to trim these types of grasses, you need to use shears and cut them at least 3 inches for smaller lawns. Be sure to check out product reviews on the best pruning shears for 2023. 

If you are dealing with tall ones, then cutting them at least 3 feet would be best. Avoid trimming too small as the chances of curing the plant’s crown are highly possible.

How to Trim Large Ornamental Grass that Goes Dormant

These are giant pheasant’s tail grass, feather reed grass, and maiden grass. Large ornamental grasses can have leaf blades that are sharp which are why ensuring that you are wearing gloves and long sleeves are ideal to make sure that these leaves won’t cut your arms or face.

You can start trimming large ornamental grass annually and during the late fall to the middle of the spring season.

Always wear gloves and long sleeves when cutting your ornamental grass. You can start the process by wrapping a rope around the grass and gently tie it to the foliage’s tight column.

This will make trimming easier and will ensure that the grass won’t start exploding into pieces. You may use powered or handheld hedging shears. Now if you prefer using powered shears then it would be best to ask your friend for assistance.

How to Trim Small Decorative Grasses that Stays Evergreen

These are mondo grass, lily turf, Mexican feather grass, blue oat grass, sweet flag, and sedge. They are one of the easiest grass to maintain because they don’t need too much maintenance and they can fit anywhere.

Also read: How to Grow and Care for Mondo Grass

You can start trimming them during early to middle of spring for you to rejuvenate them. Trim the grass using hedging shears or pruners and make sure only to get rid of about two-thirds of your grass. 

Don't worry if the grass starts looking weird because they will usually go back to normal and will start looking good again after a couple of months or so.

Avoid cutting the grass too much to ensure that there will be less moisture. This is mainly because too much moisture can affect the crown and will cause for the lawn to start rotting.

Trimming Large Ornamental Grass that Stays Evergreen

These are Yucca, Cordyline, and Flax. These grasses are spiky and large and are usually used as a focal point of every landscape today. Trimming them is highly significant because they are the ones that are often noticed at first.

You can start trimming them in the middle of spring. The best leaves to start cutting are the damaged ones and the oldest. This may be a daunting task, but once you get the hang of it, then you no longer have to worry about anything at all.

Now for the healthier grass, you can start trimming the leaves for about two-thirds of its size. There are some instances wherein you need to cut the foliage itself due to severe damage. You don’t have to worry about anything because they will eventually grow back.

Additional Tips on Trimming Ornamental Grass

Bundling Your Ornamental Grass

If you are dealing with ornamental grass that is too tall, then bundling them would be better. It will be easier for you to trim them because something is holding them all.

You can use a shear,  power trimmer or brush cutter if the grass is well established for you to avoid having problems when it comes to cutting them.

Cleaning and Tidying Up Ornamental Grasses

Once you are done with the trimming process, it would be best to start cleaning and tidying up the area. The blades of the grass should be gathered and put into a pile, which you can later on use to create compost.

You have the option to remove the rope that you used to tie them up if you want or keep it to ensure that it will stay neatly.

Now You Can Start Trimming Ornamental Grass on Your Own

These are all the information on trimming ornamental grass on your own. It may be a daunting task especially if you are cutting grass that is large and tall, but if you follow the tips above on how you can do it, then there wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Start planning your trimming process for you to be able to maintain the beauty and health of your ornamental grass. Just make sure to follow the tips for you to avoid damaging the grass or injuring yourself while you are in the process of trimming ornamental grass.

Pin it