Cutting Back Ornamental Grass

by Barb
(Gatineau Quebec Canada)

I live in Gatinea Quebec Canada. What winter month am I supposed to cut foliage back to the ground? It is a perennial and purchased at Loblaws. We live in zone 5. Thanking you in advance, Barb


Doug says that generally we cut our ornamental grass plants back in early spring. For two reasons - the first is that the dried leaves have "winter interest" and the second is that they are said to overwinter better if pruned in the spring.

I haven't done much practical research in my own gardens on the overwintering issue. In the nursery, we didn't prune them till spring as a labor saving system (dig, prune, pot up for sale in one operation) and had few problems with overwintering most hardy varieties.

Some folks claim that pruning in the fall somehow kills off the plant (too much collected moisture, too little snow cover, ??) I've heard all kinds of stories and reasons for this but have (as I said) never tested this. I can't see why it would if the soil was right but there are stranger things in this world that I haven't figure out yet. :-)

So - do it in the spring if you like the look of ornamental grass in the garden during the winter. Do it in the fall if you don't (and let us know how the overwintering success goes)