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Cutting back Stipa Tenuissima (pony tails) grass

Janie BJanie B Posts: 963
I have several ST plants in the border that have looked fab for weeks:





But are now getting very floppy... how should I prune them (if at all)? Many thanks. 
Lincolnshire

Posts

  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    That's how they grow. They might need more water? if you can't stand the untidiness, I just grab it all in one hand and shear it all off. Water it afterwards and you should find new shoots will grow. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Janie BJanie B Posts: 963
    I love it when they're like in the pic above, it's just that they now seem too heavy and have started flopping on the ground, almost like the seeds are too heavy to be supported by the stems... We've had a ton of rain today, so let's hope they stand upright again tomorrow... otherwise I'll just have to do as you say, and give them a little haircut... Many thanks, @Lizzie27

    Lincolnshire
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    I run my hands through them, and pull out as much of the seeds as possible.  It makes them flop less, and they self-seed less. I cut them back hard in early spring. 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited July 2020
    I have gone off this plant for this reason! They look good planted as a mass on their own, perhaps with bulbs. Then it doesn't matter that they end up lying flat away from the prevailing wind 
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They need to have other planting around them to give them support. They're pretty nothing-y otherwise. The 'daisy' flowers are good, especially for this time of year, and into autumn, or hardy geraniums etc. Bulbs fro spring gives interest for them earlier in the year.

    It won't help them to be cut back. Spring is the right time,  as @KeenOnGreen indicates.

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    This is the type of situation where I like them, they all have ended up facing one way because of the wind, but it creates a wave effect like this.

    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • owd potterowd potter Posts: 979
    Not it's best look at the moment...

    but I just leave it be, after a bit of sun it dries and picks itself back up.
    Just another day at the plant...
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