Grasses are genuinely easy to look after. With a little annual attention, they will generously repay in the form of a very long display that is as short on work as it is high on value. Understanding what your grasses need, and planning accordingly, will make things easier still.
When it comes to caring for grasses there are really two main groups; the evergreen group with foliage that stays alive all year, and the deciduous group whose growth dries to a beige brown but that will generally stand for the winter. A smaller third group, the semi evergreens, can exhibit characteristics of the other two groups.
There is no one best moment to care for your grasses. What you do, and when, will depend primarily on which group of grasses you are dealing with; evergreen, deciduous or semi evergreen. The individual grass descriptions on our shop pages will show which grass belongs to which group, along with some care notes for each plant.
Deciduous grasses: Require last seasons growth to be cut back to the ground each year to make way for the new seasons growth. Most cutting back is usually done from late winter onwards, with exact timing depending on your geographical area, and the weather conditions in any given season.
Evergreen grasses: Longer lived evergreens such as acorus, many carex, ophiopogon and liriope may not need any attention for some years. Shorter lived evergreens such as anemanthele, some carex, festuca and nassella will need a little more regular attention, some annually, some every other year or so. Most evergreens can be trimmed when required but this should be done only when the grasses are in active growth – and not when dormant.
Semi-evergreen grasses: These include grasses such as elymus and sesleria which may remain virtually evergreen in warmer and drier climates, but tend to perform better in the UK climate for an annual trim, to within a few inches of the ground, in early spring.
