The best way to Prune Dwarf Fountain Grass

The delicate texture and neutral green of dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides “Hameln”) provides a stylish accent to your landscape as part of a mixed border or in a mass planting San Diego. Dwarf fountain grass needs little upkeep, and is perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant-hardiness zones 5 to 9. Favoring a sunny, well-drained area, the plant Long Beach grows to one to two feet tall and 2-feet wide. Graceful, brush like flower spikes rise 3 to 6″ over the foliage. Dwarf fountain grass dies back in winter. Pruning eliminates the foliage, clearing the way for the renewal of spring.

Dress in a long-sleeved shirt and wear backyard gloves in winter or the fall, following the plant has finished blooming and started to dry. Dwarf fountain grass may be pruned at any given moment before new growth appears in spring, and after it’s died back for the winter. Unlike a lot of grasses, dwarf fountain grass doesn’t preserve a stylish seed head on the winter. It tends to “shatter,” coming apart in the drop, leaving only the shaft of the flower stalk.

Cut the foliage three or four inches over the floor. Use pruning shears on a plant that is smaller; hedge trimmers are most useful on a dwarf fountain grass specimen that is older.

Run your hand forth and back on the stubble to dislodge particles or any outdated foliage.

Remove most of the clippings in the root of the plant to get a look that is tidy also to prevent harboring fungus and bugs.

See related