Posts tagged as:

Summer

Post image for How to Summer-Prune a Floppy Miscanthus Grass (Video Tutorial)

I’m a big fan of ornamental grasses because they add so much motion and life to a garden. If you use multiples, they’re an easy way of bringing a sense of continuity to a busy or scattered-feeling garden, because the effect of their foliage is so soothing.

Miscanthus is a favorite because it grows so fast, it’s bulletproof (just give it sunshine), and it always looks so exuberant and healthy. The downside to its enthusiastic growth is that late in the season it can start taking up more space than we imagined and begin flopping onto its neighbors.

I’ve seen people take out their frustration with their Miscanthus Grass by taking their electric hedgers to it and just shearing off an entire side of the plant, so the poor thing loses the graceful movement it had and simply sits there looking shorn and attacked. Please don’t do that!

In this video I’ll show you a quick way of pruning your Miscanthus Grass to make it smaller and less floppy if you are having that issue, and nobody will be able to tell you did anything except for the fact that the Miscanthus will now be smaller AND still pretty.

Of course, if you’re having to summer-prune the grass every year, it might be time to either divide your Miscanthus this winter by digging it up and replanting just a smaller portion (I do this every 5 years or so), or maybe you have chosen a grass that is too big for the spot, and a more dwarf variety of Miscanthus like ‘Yaku Jima’ (4’+) or ‘Little Kitten’ (3’+) would be a better choice.

I’ll add: if you love ornamental grasses the way I do and want more ideas on how to use them in your garden, you’ve GOT to get Nancy Ondra’s book Grasses: Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design. Saxon Holt’s photography is simply gorgeous, and Nancy’s suggestions on how to use each grass gives me new ideas each time I read.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy learning how to winter-prune your ornamental grasses.

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Post image for How to Deadhead Mexican Bush Sage or Salvia leucantha (Video Tutorial)

I shot this video in December, when this Salvia was at the end of its blooming season and just starting to think about going dormant, but the advice for how to deadhead and prune it is still great for summer.

Right now, many of the Mexican Bush Sages in the gardens that I maintain are just starting to need deadheading or trimming back out of pathways and other plants.

If you need to trim your Salvia to make it smaller, the most important thing to remember is only trim it back as far as it has leaves – unless you’re removing stems altogether by cutting them out at the base, in which case just don’t leave any big bare spots.

The next thing to remember is that if you’re trying to trim it back out of a pathway or another plant, don’t just trim it on the one side that is overflowing – trim the entire bush if you’re going to trim one part, as otherwise the lack of tumbling blossoms on the trimmed side looks very obvious from afar.

If you enjoyed learning how to prune your Mexican Bush Sage, you might also like to learn how to prune Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and other Hardy Cranesbills, Alstroemeria, and Scotch Heather.

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