Hello, This Is a Landscaping Question. How Short Do I Trim the Verigated Miscanthus Grass After First Frost?
We have verigated miscanthus in our landscaping near patio. This is the first year we planted the beautiful tall grass. How short to the ground do I trim the grass after the first frost and is it necessary to mulch up around the grasses? This question is for the midwest area. Thank you.
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Miscanthus is a warm season grass. Leaving this grass long through the winter does more than just add winter interest; it protects the crown from the extreme cold that we can experience in the Midwest.
Cutting back Miscanthus after the first frost and mulching will offer some protection from the extreme winter temps, but mulch holds moisture and you do risk crown rot. The best care option for Miscanthus is really to leave this grass long through the winter and cut it back in early spring.
How short should you cut it? The advice here varies. Some say you can cut it off at the ground. The University of Illinois Extension teaches that the best maintenance practice is to treat the larger ornamental grasses different from the smaller grasses. Miscanthus should be cut-off at 4-6", smaller grasses like Karl Forester at 2-3". They never recommend cutting the ornamental grasses off at the ground; you don’t want to damage the crown. You wouldn’t cut your lawn at ground level, why would you do this to an ornamental grass? Besides, you are going to find it very difficult to cut Miscanthus off at ground level when your plant matures! This is just one tough plant to trim and I hope it never needs to be divided! Again, Miscanthus is a warm seson grass. Do not expect to see new growth until the weather really starts to warm-up. Rarely do I see new growth emerge until late May/early June in the Chicago area.
The grass can be cut down to ground level, but you might want to leave an inch or two so you remember where you planted it. I’m not sure why you’d want to cut it after the first frost though, usually there’s a good time span between the first frost and the ‘killing’ frost. Some people leave the grasses until spring because it creates winter interest in the garden (not me- it leave more work for next spring).
And mulch never hurts. Depending on your USDA hardiness zone and the zone of the grass, mulch may be necessary though.
Leave it in place until EARLY spring. Around here, I’d say late February. Then, cut it 1" above ground level. The new shoots will soon cover the cut ends.
The "dead" blades help protect the earliest shoots from frost and rabbits. Besides, it looks fairly nice even when it’s dormant.
Take it down to where it’s inside is brown from last season.