"Every year, I tell myself to exercize my grip over the winter, and every year, I ignore me."

:) Bet you feel good when you see those neat-looking tufts of grasses, though, don't you?

How short do you trim your grasses? I have mine down to 4-5 inches...too much or do I need to go more?

I know what you mean, Donn. I was trimming mine today. The snow is so deep around some that it is hard to get the height I want, but the wind storms have blown the grasses down, and they are beginning to clutter my neighbours' lots. That's not a good thing. I will have to retrim in a week or so when the snow melts more.

I started cutting mine down in December as long as the weather permitted. I've got family, work and school to tend to. It's just too time consuming to cut them all at once. I just got the last grass cut down last week. Now I'm looking forward to wathcing them grow.

every year as I whack thru the Ravenna grass, I think about getting a machete...it sure looks good when the grass guys wield em.

I knocked off another couple of hundred grasses today. I got myself a new tool I've been looking at for a while, and they work great.

{{gwi:852671}}

Corona Professional Grass Shears, GS6750. Very heavy duty, and a straight cut design, like industrial strength scissors, with only about an inch offset. 12" long overall, with 4.5" of cutting edge on each blade. I haven't tried them on my biggest grasses yet, but they go through a large handfull of 1/2" thick plume stems with ease. About $20, and available at Lowes around here.

I'm still happiest with my $3. serrated bread knife for the smaller grasses. The hand movements you have to use with your shears are killer for my hands.
I have just started cutting down this weekend ... I find it soooo difficult to part with the 'grassy look'. But, now the bulbs are starting to poke through the ground so it is TIME :o(
Donn, did you get some bulbs planted in with your grasses last year?? You were talking about doing that.
I put in about 1200 new bulbs last fall so I am really looking forward to watching them all appear ..... Ok, now I've talked myself into getting out there tomorrow and cutting down a whole lot more of my grasses :o)
A.

After last year stabbing myself in the thumb and hitting a blood vessel with a wicked maiden grass bayonet that I'd sheared with scissors (I've never seen my thumb look quite like that before, or had it hurt like that before!), this year I used my found-in-the-middle-of-the-street bypass loppers (they're no prize - they keep falling apart, but better than the scissors). I only have a couple of maiden grasses that need this so far. I have collected several types of OG seed from trades and local "harvesting" that I plan on sowing this year, and hope to chisel away further the turf grass/weeds that give me no joy. :-)

Quick question: On the smaller clump of maiden grass I noticed the empty center, and I wondered if this is normal progression of outward growth, or a symptom of disease. I thought it might be a good place to put a totem or statuary. Any advice?
Terri

Terri..I wouldn't say it's normal for Miscanthus to die out in the center, but it does happen. I have a theory it's caused by the fact that the grass clump is a leaf and clutter magnet. Organic stuff trapped within the clump is washed down by rain and wind action, and the stuff in the center never dries. It sits there and rots, both itself and the grass's crown. The newer growth around the edges gets more air and sun, and is healthier.

When I trim back a clump, I use a 12" long pair of tweezers to pluck out leaves, pine needles and pine cones.

When a clump goes that way, you can divide it, using only sections of the perimeter, and discarding the dead center.

Thanks, donn. I did clean out the center and there was debris, mostly what seemed to be hollow grass stems (perhaps from my trimming from last year, when I didn't tidy up very well). I guess it will either grow in since I cleaned it up, or it won't. I will plunk in a spindle totem or something in the meantime, just for the heck of it. Thanks again for the info!

Gee Donn .... I really hate to disagree with you :o(
I actually 'think' that it is quite natural for Miscanthus sinensis to die out in the middle. And, some cultivars are more prone to this than others.
I also 'think' this dying out is due to the roots being so tight & woody. It is just impossible for the new shoots to come through.
As for putting something in the middle, well I suppose you could... But, I have a very large Gracillimus with an ever increasing center and once it gets growing you would never know it. I once heard that the lovely relaxed 'mushroom shape' that you see in some photographs are grasses with empty centres.
What I'm waiting to see is; Over time, will the grass begin growing in that middle area ??

That's why I called my idea a "theory," A. I have no empirical evidence to back it up, so it's just a hunch. I do know I find an inordinate amount of schmootz (sp?) in the center of my larger grasses. It's presence creates an environment widely known to be detrimental to some OG's; constant moisture and overly fertile conditions. Couple that with the shade naturally found inside a clump, and de grass don't grow.

:o)

When we get finished all the cutting back process I will go around & see if some cultivars are more prone to this problem than others. I'll let you know the results.
A.

"I'll let you know the results."

Please do. That, in my opinion, is the primary value of forums like this one. Sharing experiences, observations and results of experiments is key to expanding the knowledge base.

It's like the Carex pruning issue. There are apparently over 3,000 varieties of the critter, and so little cultural information available. Someone should write a book!

This week I dug up am Miscanthus 'nippon'. The center had died out. When I got the clump out of the ground, there were no roots coming from the center of the root ball. Interesting observation, I thought.