Spring is coming soon and that means you should start pruning your garden grasses soon. So that the decorative beauties can continue to sprout their pretty stalks in the new season, you have to prepare them and guarantee a good start. We will explain to you how to cut Pennisetum grass and when exactly you can prune it.
Why should you cut pennisetum?
If you leave the old, dried-out blades on the plants, this will disrupt the formation of the new blades of grass. Your ornamental grass will not grow as lush as you would like. However, this also playsthe right timean important role because the wrong season can cause more harm than good to the ornamental grass. And that also applies to the way you cut. How and when do you cut pennisetum grass?
When is the right time for a caring cut?
As does everyoneother ornamental grassesYou should cut your Pennisetum grass in spring, regardless of which Pennisetum grass varieties you have. Many people make the mistake of doing this in the fall after the grass blades dry out. But this deprives the plant of natural frost protection and moisture can then collect in the hollow stalks and lead to rot. Instead, the time before new growth is optimal, which usually means April or May.
It is advisable to choose a dry day. But you don't need to worry if it's cold. The plant is frost hardy and the stalks have already dried out and the latter are no longer necessary for overwintering. The weather is now mild enough that the grass will now survive without its natural winter protection.
If you missed the deadline, you can theoretically still cut your pennisetum in the summer. However, you should keep in mind that you will then drastically postpone the flowering phase. For aesthetic reasons, you can of course remove individual stalks that dry out over the course of the season. From autumn onwards, however, you should not cut the stalks too deeply in these cases.
How to make the cut correctly
If you are planning on doing this,When cutting pennisetum grass, you notice that there are already new shoots, you can still cut off the old ones. Just be careful not to damage the new ones. Use sharp pruning shears and gardening gloves to avoid injury or skin irritation when cutting back grasses.
- Always pick up individual bundles instead of cutting straight away.
- You can twist the bundles a little to make them narrower and easier to enclose with the scissors.
- Cut back to about 10cm above the ground.
- Cut as straight and smoothly as possible without picking, tearing or bruising (this is why sharp garden tools are so important).
Then simply dispose of the clippings in the compost. To complete the preparation of the plants, it is now advisable to apply fertilizer. Compost is also well suited for this. In this way, you provide the plant with all the important nutrients it will need for new growth and support new growth.
