In cold climates, blue fescue grass often turns brown in winter, but many growers leave it standing to help protect the roots from cold. Sterilize pruning shears by wiping the blades with rubbing alcohol and prune blue hair grass in late winter, pruning all foliage to ground level. To propagate blue oat grass, do the following: Dig around the perimeter of the plant using a shovel or spade. About Genevieve. Plant nursery-grown transplants 18 to 24 inches apart in early spring. For taller grasses, bind them about a half a foot (15 cm.) Prior to freelance writing, Johnson taught English in Japan. Most woody ornamental plants are best pruned in the dormant season or, if they’re spring flowering, as soon as the flowers begin to fade. You've filled your yard with fescue, miscanthus, and fakahatchee for multi-season interest that's beloved by the residents of your home as well as the wildlife. Cut small amounts of the plant as you go. Blue fescue is a commonly grown ornamental grass. Is Bleach Good for Fungus in Zoysia Grass? Measure 3 to 4 inches along the grass stems from the ground. Filed Under: How to Prune Tagged With: Garden Maintenance, Pruning, Winter. Pruning monkey grass helps take out the battered leaves and permits new leaves to come in and flourish. She has been writing professionally since 2008 and her interests are travel, gardening, sewing and Mac computers. Blue oat grass maintains its attractive light brown fall color through the winter. All Rights Reserved. According to the University of Arkansas, blue fescue is a cool-season perennial grass with blue-gray leaves. Limbs with a lot of fruit buds and vegetative buds should be left. You want to cut back your grass once a year, as late in the season as possible. Measure 3 to 4 inches along the grass stems from the ground. Prune blue fescue with clippers instead of pruning shears. Sterilize pruning shears by wiping the blades with rubbing alcohol and prune blue hair grass in late winter, pruning all foliage to ground level. Graceful ornamental grass clumps add delightful texture and interest to the garden in all seasons, they are incredibly easy to care for and there are hardy ornamental grass varieties suitable for any climate. Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →, NC State University Extension: Blue Fescue, Virginia Cooperative Extension: Blue Fescue, Missouri Botanical Garden: Festuca Glauca "Elijah Blue". Sterilize pruning shears again after use. If you haven't been pruning your fruit-bearing bushes regularly, you might need to do some rejuvenation pruning to remove anything that's overgrown or dead. How to Prune Perennial Grass. To prune a plant to encourage bushy new growth, snip off the dominant buds on select stems, staggering the cuts to encourage varied growth. It impacts how well your plants will grow. When a plant's older leaves start to look worn, you should prune the foliage back either to where there is still fresh growth or all the way back to new basal growth, if there is any. Perennial ornamental grasses add a touch of interest to the yard without requiring a lot of maintenance. Small, short clumps of grass can be cut back with pruning shears, but large clumps of tall grass species may require a string trimmer, a power hedge trimmer or even a chainsaw. Take care not to damage any new growth that may already be coming up through the crown of the plant. Pruning at the wrong time won’t damage plants, but it can sacrifice that year's flowers or fruit. Grass trees (Xanthorrhoea preissii) are primarily grown in thick soils or even in gravel. To prune a grass, hold the foliage taut with one hand and use the other hand to run the sickle’s toothed blade against the base of the plant using a sawing motion. It grows in a small mound, which makes it perfect for borders or as a backdrop to showy plants. Wear gloves to protect your hands when working. How to prune big Miscanthus grasses: a tutorial in photos. For cool season grasses, cut them back in early spring. Hollan Johnson is a freelance writer and contributing editor for many online publications. Sometimes, however, selective pruning … Copyright Leaf Group Ltd. // Leaf Group Lifestyle. You can cut back the entire plant to 6 to 12 inches of growth (basically starting over), or you can prune gradually over time. Rushes (Juncus spp.) Because you’re already holding each clump of foliage, you can put trimmings into a bag or bucket as you prune, saving time on cleanup. Shrub roses are a popular garden plant, and for good reason: they are beautiful and smell wonderful. Cut back the foliage by one-third in the late summer to stimulate new foliage growth for fall. Trim off the flowers that bloom in the summer to keep the foliage looking nice, according to the University of Virginia. The ornamental grass is a tidy evergreen that is very tolerant of a wide range of sites and conditions. Remove dead, broken or damaged foliage from the blue fescue plant at any time of the year to reduce stress on the plant. She has a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada. Cut small amounts of the plant as you go. Read this article to … Prior to planting, enrich the planting area with well-decomposed compost, mixing it into the soil in the planting hole and the surrounding area. Take the time to dig deep enough that you free the entire root ball, remembering that ornamental grasses can have a substantial root system. A graduate of Leeds University, Jenny Green completed Master of Arts in English literature in 1998 and has been writing about travel, gardening, science and pets since 2007. It is now ready for cutting back, before the new growth comes up in spring. We will have video’s on pruning our blueberry farm soon. According to the University of Arkansas, blue fescue is a cool-season perennial grass with blue-gray leaves. Avoid cutting the leader, or the vertical stem at the very top of the trunk, on a young tree. Prune summer-blooming trees and shrubs in winter or early spring, before new growth emerges. In hot, humid summers, blue hair grass stops growing until the following spring. Pruning and cutting back is important if your plants are to give their best display or crop, and to prevent them outgrowing their space. How Should I Prune a Rush?. For warm season grasses, you want to trim them between late fall and mid-spring. 3-6 years of age. Depending on the height of your grass variety, you may prune them lower, but … Prune back any crossing branches or branches that grow in toward the middle of a young tree, and cut off lower branches on the trunk as the tree grows to raise the crown. Beige panicles are produced June through August, eventually achieving a light brown hue by fall. Some of the tree’s important hormones — growth stimulators or regulators — come from the bud at the tip of each leafy shoot or branch, which biologists call the apical, leading, or tip bud. Learn which plants thrive in your Hardiness Zone with our new interactive map! Green's work appears in Diva, Whole Life Times, Listverse, Earthtimes, Lamplight, Stupefying Stories and other websites and magazines. As a rule of thumb, prune spring-flowering shrubs and trees immediately after the flowers fade. How to Prune Shrub Roses. New growth appears in early spring, and glossy green flower heads emerge in late spring, maturing to silvery white plumes 6 to 12 inches above the foliage. Ornamental grass is a great addition to just about any landscape. Sterilize pruning shears again after use. Plants growing in moist, fertile sites have a reduced lifespan. Cutting monkey grass with a lawnmower or trimmer is great for larger areas of the grass, but trimmers work just as well on pruning monkey grass where it is growing in a smaller area. An easy-to-grow plant, blue-eyed grass thrives in full sun or part shade and moist, well-drained soil. How to Prune Grass Trees. Blue hair grass requires little attention other than pruning. It produces a thick stand of healthy, dark green foliage when planted in soil that is rich in organic matter. Follow these easy step by step instructions on how to prune blueberries and properly amend the soil for quality growth. If you have a grass tree that is turning brown, you probably need to prune it. Ornamental grasses can be divided to produce more plants, or simply to reduce the size of a clump and prevent plants from losing their vigour. It is hardy between USDA zones 4 and 9 and grows from 6 to 10 inches tall. tend to grow in moist or wet soil in areas with full sun. Decorative Grasses to Protect Soil From Erosion, Missouri Botanical Garden: Koeleria Glauca, University of California Sonoma County Master Gardeners: Ornamental Grasses as Lawn Alternatives. Genevieve Schmidt is a landscape designer and owns a fine landscape maintenance company in Arcata, CA. Pruning blueberry bushes and proper blueberry bush care can help yield not only a larger harvest but also larger, juicier berries. Trim some branches back by a quarter, others by a half, and still others all the way back to their base. The best time to prune your blueberry plants is during the winter, preferably right before spring arrives. Water plants … Many new gardeners can't bear the idea of cutting back an entire plant, but this is … Grasp the tallest leaves, and one by one, cut them out as far down towards the base of the plant as possible. Space clumps fairly close, about 8 to 10 inches apart since the plants don't spread very much. Thriving in harsh conditions, blue hair grass grows well in sandy, infertile soil. Blue fescue prefers to grow in full sun and needs well-drained soil in which to thrive. Each mature blueberry plant should have about 6-12 Canes.When pruning you should leave at least 6 canes, but you don’t want more than 12. Trim the flowers off at the base of the blue fescue. Flowers are borne from the tips of the tapered leaves tipped with golden oat-like seed heads. This short-lived perennial grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 9 and is named for its mounds of dense, blueish-green, thin foliage 6 to 24 inches tall and 6 to 12 inches wide. How Far Apart Should Blue Girl Holly Be Planted? Grass trees (Xanthorrhoea preissii) are primarily grown in thick soils or even in gravel. Pruning plants isn’t just about shaping them. Examples of cool-season ornamental grasses include tufted hair grass (Deschampsia caespitosa) and silver spike grass (Spodiopogon sibiricus), both of which are hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9.. Pruning Process. The grass tree does not need direct sunlight to flourish. Remove dead, broken or damaged foliage from the blue fescue plant at any time of the year to reduce stress on the plant. This guide shows you how to hard prune or rejuvenate pruning shrubs and plants. Choose a time in early spring when the threat of heavy frost has passed to cut blue fescue ornamental grasses. Get tips on the how, the when, and the why of cutting back these artistic and pretty landscape plants now. What Can You Plant to Cover the Side of a Ditch? up and prune at that point. Pruning to Rejuvenate . A mixture of hormones and food controls a tree’s growth. Cut back the foliage in early spring to within a few inches of the ground. Wear gloves to protect your hands when working. Cut back the dead winter foliage by one-third its height in mid-spring to allow new foliage to grow. Pruning blue hair grass removes old, decaying foliage and displays fresh young leaves to their best effect. Cut back the spent stems with secateurs. Wait until late in the season to cut brown or spent grass. Choose a time in early spring when the threat of heavy frost has passed to cut blue fescue ornamental grasses. When pruning some of the top stems, the unproductive limbs without many fruit buds, or few vegetative buds should be taken out. Plant Pruning Tips . When the leaves are turning brown, the leaves need to be cut in order to regrow. An ornamental grass for dry, full-sun sites, blue hair grass (Koeleria glauca) benefits from pruning in late winter. Wondering how to prune your ornamental grasses? 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