Ornamental grasses can be cut back any time from fall to spring, but I like to leave them in place over the winter. They bring motion and texture to the garden when they’re desperately needed! By late winter, heavy snows and ice start to break the grasses though, and that can create quite a mess in the yard. In February or March, I head outside with pruners or electric hedge shears and start cutting the larger grasses back 4 inches from the ground. Some gardeners tie the tops in a bundle with twine or duct tape to make clean up easier. Smaller grasses, like fountain grass, can be cut even closer to the ground, leaving 1 inch of stubble. Fine-textured grass like fescue can actually be sorted through with your fingers. The brown strands will separate easily, leaving the still-blue-green blades in place.

Divide the grasses when growth begins. Cool season grasses, like feather reed grass (Calamagrostis), begin growth in March, so watch for the first sign of greening. Warm season grasses, like fountain grass (Pennisetum), maiden grass (Miscanthus) and hardy pampas grass (Erianthus), begin to produce shoots later in May. When the grass has grown a few inches, lift the clump from the ground and divide it into several sections.

From Purdue University Yard and Garden News, “In the Grow” written by Rosie Lerner