How to Cut Back Grasses and Grass-Like Plants

[@marybeth4002]

A light bulb moment... why didn't I think of using bungee, etc for a clean pruning on my 6 ft tall ornamental grass??? Genius. Thank you, Jim, for making my life a little easier in the landscape. 🌳🌻🌹

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Use velcro - a lot easier

[@sammysworld5485]

Hi Jim. I use the bungee cord method too. Smart gardeners think a like 😂. Love this educational segment. Thank you.

[@ElizabethM824]

Perfect timing! Thanks for the tips about dividing grasses too. I wasn't sure when to divide the grasses I have.

[@B30pt87]

Great video! I really appreciate your putting the names & scientific names onscreen - especially the big lists. Thanks!

[@Mrs_Wizard]

Thank you for speaking about leaving flower heads and stems for pollinators and birds to use in winter! I've been choosing to plant mostly natives in my yard and learning about the value of leaving things "untidy" for the wildlife and critters to use.

[@jennablorezone8Band9A]

Great timing with this video, I’ve been pondering my blue fescue and other grasses as when to cut them and double thanks about how to divide them as well. Learning something new everyday 👩🏼‍🌾🌻

[@Luvyatilyouactup]

This is perfect timing. I recently pruned a bunch of Pink Muhly and Dwarf Hameln grasses but have others to prune. Great info, as usual!

[@JimPutnam]

Thanks for following along!

[@Luvyatilyouactup]

Thanks for helping me become a better gardener. Your bungee cord method makes things easier.

[@loricawley54]

I was wondering if u like the Pink Muhly and how does it do for u? I have seeds for it that I’m about to plant, but have nvr grown one before and have no experience with it. I’d appreciate any tips u might have! Ty! 😊

[@Luvyatilyouactup]

I love it for cool season interest. It has good movement and is super easy. I only used Bio-tone starter fertilizer at planting and they were on their way with little attention afterwards.

[@MalorieRivera]

I've been waiting for this one! I found a perfectly good Lomandra Katrinus Deluxe in the road, clearly having fallen off a truck, and popped it in my garden a few weeks ago. Never had an ornamental grass so this was so helpful!

[@marshawilliamson8602]

Adding more grasses to my hillside garden. Thank you for this information 🌸🐝

[@rivervalleywinwater8353]

Just burn mine 😎 Come back great every year!!

[@parsley7894]

Great video and perfect timing Jim. Just cut back my grasses up in zone 6B today. They held up well over the winter but some are already showing signs of new growth after this mild winter.

[@ryanhartzfeld8478]

I know you don’t have any roses on your property but a rose pruning video would be great!

[@annebuchanan3200]

Helpful, as always. Thanks. My winter structure is under 3’ of snow. 😂 I’ll just wait for it all to surface.

[@kso808]

I just cut back my ornamental grass this past week, as well as beautyberry.

[@JimPutnam]

Nice. Definitely the time. I enjoy cut backs really!

[@randyman8984]

I started burning mine last year and its sooo much faster and alot easier. Can be intimidating the first time you try it but just make sure to have a water hose in hand just in case. I burn my pink mulhy grasses and maiden grasses.

[@ashleighnelson512]

Great timing on this video! I just cut my liriope and I am looking forward to cutting back my pink muhly grass and purple fountain grass and seeing if they survived the winter. 😅

[@JWHealing]

I have pink muhly grass that I put in the ground early winter/ late fall 2021. So far they have stayed tiny & barely have / had any poofy plumes at all. Did I just buy bad specimens that will be forever stunted or can I fertilize in spring & summer to get more growth & color?

[@cherylstrawn9448]

Thank you! I learn something new with every video!

[@jennifermcduffie6889]

I just cut back my miscanthus grasses this week. Some older ones need to be dug up and divided. Have a video on the best way to do this?

[@JM-lo8xu]

Thanks for the tips of waiting to divide!

[@jenna4649]

Do you have a video of "safer" grasses ...had one horrible experience but love the look. Have a Shenandoah switch and pink muhlry...and would love to hear more about your favorite that stay put within reason

[@sashastarshanti3599]

So helpful. Thank you, Jim!

[@lilyw.1788]

Zone 5b- I have liriope that doesn’t look very green . Should I leave it or chop it ?

[@terrivance8750]

Jim, I know the advantages/disadvantages of warm vs. cool season turf grasses, especially in my VA Zone 7A yard. What are the advantages/disadvantages of warm vs. cool season ornamental grasses & grass-like plants? Thank you! 😊

[@reddirtgreenthumb3553]

On larger grasses, we use duct tape instead of bungees. It works great!

[@B30pt87]

Except that then you can't compost the grass unless you take the duct tape off. Why make more garbage?

[@reddirtgreenthumb3553]

@@B30pt87 I guess I should clarify 😊, I have a small landscape business and some of the ornamental grasses that we cut back are absolutely humongous. Then we have to put them on my trailer and haul them up to 20 miles on the highway under a tarp. Once we get them to the compost facility we cut the tape off. We definitely have found that if we don’t use the tape, the wind ends up blowing grass blades everywhere. But I totally agree, we definitely don’t want to add more garbage to the world. That’s why we don’t put them in plastic trash bags like I see some companies do.

[@B30pt87]

@@reddirtgreenthumb3553 Thank you for explaining that to me! I apologize for my curt response, rather than thinking about why you might need something other than a string.

[@pamelafrydman4429]

I live in 5b, SE Wisconsin. My garden gets several feet of snow in the winter. I vacillate on cutting back grasses and others or not. Plants can sometimes get soft, mildewy at the base. Let me know your thoughts! Thank you.

[@teinahenderson4182]

Perfect timing! I've got pink muhly grasses to trim. Question 🙋🏼‍♀️ is now a good time to also divide the grasses?

[@lisagreen7499]

Any tips on digging up mature grasses? It’s the hardest thing for me to dig up. I have 2 mature clumps of miscanthus & panicum that have died in the middle. I am dreading it. Thanks! Appreciate your channel

[@jumprope04]

My garden is new. I haven’t dug up grasses yet but I hear they can be quite tough. I saw where someone used a serrated shovel to make the work easier. Good luck!

[@2BitRanch]

When is the best time to transplant a fountain grass. It got too big for a space and I wanna put it another place. I'm in zone 9 cali desert. Is it the same as when you divide?

[@barbarawitt9989]

Hi Jim. Please, could you show how to properly trim a lollipop Miss Kim lilac? My standard has been growing like crazy and blooming abundantly. This its third year in ground, and I'm afraid to delve into it after blooming. Thanks much!

[@frazercollins9559]

Thanks for the video!

[@ruthgilbo889]

Are Rosa Rugosa deer resistant? I'm in zone 7, Jersey shore area, and need a rose that can take the salty-air. Thanks

[@B30pt87]

Jim, what was that grass @12:05? That was Beautiful!

[@NHvideos-w8p]

Hello what month of the year we can cut back any kind of grass like that

[@rachelsgarden]

Thanks for sharing the bungee method! My muhly grass is huge. Does the white variety hold more color through the winter? That group looks more showy than my ‘beige’ pink muhly right now.

[@NANALOVEGARDEN50]

Mr.Putnam is it to late to prune day lilies for this year blooming season?

[@NANALOVEGARDEN50]

Does anybody know what is the latest that I can cut back or prune daylilies for this year blooming season?

[@jengsaquatics689]

Hi Jim. I have several Lomandra Platinum Beauty. I'm in zone 8b coastal SC. They're looking rough after the sudden windy cold we had a while back. Can I cut them too? Also curious to know if I can divide them too. Thanks in advance for your time :)

[@crankychef]

Can you grow cherry trees for fruit in the south? We're in northern SC, zone 7b.. having a hard time finding info online.

[@tazmankb26]

What about large Pampas grass?

[@frsujongaming]

Great vedio,, my friend

[@JimPutnam]

Thanks for watching!

[@frsujongaming]

Welcome

[@TheBarefootedGardener]

I don’t know why you go through all that effort to cut down miscanthus and what not… I just burn them lol. Assuming it’s safe and the heat wouldn’t damage nearby plants…

[@randyman8984]

I started doing this last yr. Makes quick work of the mulhy grass and maiden grases I have. I always make sure I have a water hose in hand just to be safe. Its crazy how big the fire can get but burns very fast

[@jumprope04]

How do you burn a grass? Is there a technique, or just light it and burn it to the ground? Sounds a little scary.😮

[@randyman8984]

@@jumprope04 it starts very easily. The flame will get big and can be intimidating but will burn fast.. there's a lot of stuff brown right now so make sure to have a water hose handy. I'll send you a YT video when I find it of a another person doing it

[@judymckerrow6720]

I don’t much care for grasses, they look too much like the weeds I have growing all over the place. But I watched anyway. ❄️💚🙃

[@jordanlikes69]

I need to find me a man that looks like Jim and likes plants as much as he does , are there any men left in the world for me !