Verdun, have you ever tried sowing Hodeum jubatum from fresh seed in Autumn? I tried some for the first time late August and was amazed by how quickly ,and prolificly they germinated. I was able to get them into 9cm pots and now have them in a cold polytunnel. Well worth a try.
I do it now so that I can use the hedge trimmers to chop down at ground level. I even do that to the evergreen ones every third year. Easier to do when there are no new shoots appearing.
..perennial rule breaker here... I chop down my Miscanthus before mid Dec.... I don't like the straw blowing about the garden all winter... I like to see them frosted up a bit in November but after that... chop with shears... this season I dug up the great clump and left it lying around for about a week before dividing and replanting... it'll survive...
..other grasses I leave till Spring..haven't got that many...
I'm awaiting the availability of a new American one called Schizachyrium 'Prairie Munchkin'.... it's a form of buffalo grass I think...I've grown one such type previously but this looks to be something out of the ordinary...
Thank you for comments all, very helpful and as ever lots of ideas for other grasses to try. So based on what is said will tidy the lower leaves of the Stipa gigantea but otherwise just let it get on with growing all by itself.
Pennisetums I have cut back, Thing is everything seems to be in spring mode because of the lack of a cold winter
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Verdun, have you ever tried sowing Hodeum jubatum from fresh seed in Autumn? I tried some for the first time late August and was amazed by how quickly ,and prolificly they germinated. I was able to get them into 9cm pots and now have them in a cold polytunnel. Well worth a try.
I must try that Hordeum.
Verdun, I think S. arundinacea is more suitable for the wilder style of gardening. It suits here.
I had hoped to just take the shears to the miscanthus, rather than be preserving new shoots. When do the new shoots start?
Is the plural of miscanthus still miscanthus, or miscanthuses or even miscanthi
In the sticks near Peterborough
Miscanthus
I do it now so that I can use the hedge trimmers to chop down at ground level. I even do that to the evergreen ones every third year. Easier to do when there are no new shoots appearing.
Thanks Berghill
In the sticks near Peterborough
..perennial rule breaker here... I chop down my Miscanthus before mid Dec.... I don't like the straw blowing about the garden all winter... I like to see them frosted up a bit in November but after that... chop with shears... this season I dug up the great clump and left it lying around for about a week before dividing and replanting... it'll survive...
..other grasses I leave till Spring..haven't got that many...
I'm awaiting the availability of a new American one called Schizachyrium 'Prairie Munchkin'.... it's a form of buffalo grass I think...I've grown one such type previously but this looks to be something out of the ordinary...
Make sure you ALWAYS wear gloves, a cut from grass is not very nice. Do not copy Monty Don and run bare hands through grass!
Thank you for comments all, very helpful and as ever lots of ideas for other grasses to try. So based on what is said will tidy the lower leaves of the Stipa gigantea but otherwise just let it get on with growing all by itself.
Pennisetums I have cut back, Thing is everything seems to be in spring mode because of the lack of a cold winter