Cutting landscapes

[David W]

When do you usually cut back grasses, laropi, daylillies etc.?

This time of year or wait till early spring?

[Kate Butler]

This is a VERY recent thread.

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?t=164452

[David W]

Yeah thanks. I read that thread the other day.

I was more curious to what everyone else did. I normally cut grasses down after christmas or early spring for the fact that some people like to leave them until they start getting messy.

I was more or less curious to what everyone else does.

Thanks anyways.

[rodfather]

Ornamental grasses we cut back in the early Spring. I think they look nice with the snow (if any) as a backdrop in the Winter months.

[sheshovel]

Yes, well you can and should leave Ornamental Grasses foliage intact all winter because it helps to keep the roots protected from snow and ice. But it can be done either way. For herbaceous perennials they need to be cut back because they look ugly and pests like to over-winter under the dead foliage. Some disease will also live on dead foliage, in any season. Keeping a garden clean takes great strides towards keeping pests and disease at bay.