Ornamental Grass SOS

[Garden Manager]

I need some advice on a Stipa arundinacea (also known as Anemanthele lessoniana) which i have in my garden. I grew some from seed a couple of years ago and they are now mature plants. I recenly needed to move some of them and one which had grown particuarly large and had outgrown its space, needed dividing.

Whilst the other moved plants are looking fine, this divided plant (in its 4 divisions) is looking particularly sorry for itself despite incorporating compost into the planting sites and watering them well. Compared to my other plants of the same variety the divisions are looking a bit 'thin' and have lost their colour. They are planted in the same spot where the plant has thrived before (open, sunny spot, well drained soil etc) Could i have done more harm than good by dividing them? Is there anything (such as cutting them back) that i can do to help them recover or do i have to just wait and see what happens with them?

I would appreciate any advice please. Whilst I am an expereinced gardener i am a novice at growing ornamental grasses.

[Garden Manager]

[springbok]

Found this useful info, hope it helps :)

http://www.winsfordwalledgarden.com/planting.aspx?Page=Stipa

[ceres]

I had the opposite problem.  I had one that wasn't thriving at all so moved it and it's now enormous.  The position it was in originally was quite secluded and cats were always eating the new shoots so it never got a chance to establish.  It's now in front of my windows and the cats don't dare!  I cut it right down with shears in the spring each year.  It looks like a giant shaving brush when it's done!

If you look around the base of your divided plants can you see any new green shoots coming through?  If so, they will probably recover.  If not, I'd give them a few more weeks and if there is still no sign of life, I'd bin them.  I've got self-seeded seedlings all over the place so if you'd like some I could send them to you. 

[Garden Manager]

Thats interesting information there. Thanks. I wasnt sure what to do about cutting them back. Doesnt say anything about division though.

Thinking back the plant in question did have quite a bit of dead growth in it before i lifted it, so maybe dividing hasnt caused the dieback after all. Given the plant's size (bigger than the others in the garden) I should imagine it has reached full maturity ahead of the others and is/was due for a radical haircut. Shame i hadnt discovered this information before lifting and dividing. i could have just cut the one plant back, now i will probaby have to cut back 4 and leave big gaps in the border!

[Mrs Ava]

When did you move it?  Some ornamental grasses don't produce root growth during the winter months so you shouldn't divide them in the autumn as they will just sit in the planting hole slowely dying. 

[Garden Manager]

When did you move it?  Some ornamental grasses don't produce root growth during the winter months so you shouldn't divide them in the autumn as they will just sit in the planting hole slowely dying. 

No i didnt move it last autumn EJ only a couple of weeks ago. I knew enough about them to move it in spring, I thought if I left it as late as possible then they would be OK. However I didnt bargain for the recent weather. Sunny and warm would be OK but we have been getting some strong dry winds in the last few days which seems to be having a negative effect. That said the grasses didnt look A1 before either so I dont know what the real problem has been with them.

I had another look at them earlier and they show all the symptoms of drought (curled up leaves etc). This despite recent watering. There is though signs of green shoots/stems a the base which is encouraging although this is on old growth not new.

Any thoughts?

[Garden Manager]

Just thought I'd give an update and refresh the thread a bit. A few weeks on and the grasses in question are still looking unhappy. On one the top growth seems to have died off completely with only one or two signs of new leaves coming through. the others look a bit better but the top growth still looks 'deader' than more established plants of the same variety in the garden.

I am in a dillemma. Do i cut them back and leave gaps (potentialy permanent ones) in the border, in the hope of regenerating the plants or do i leave them and hope new foliage comes through to replace the old(dead?) foliage naturally. Are they at the end of the cycle explained in the article 'springbokgirlie' provided?

Thanks

[ceres]

I think you probably should have cut them back when you moved them to give the roots a chance to develop without struggling to support all the top growth.

If it was me, I'd still cut them back.  They're showing signs of life so you might just still save them.

I've had mine for many years and it's still flourishing (too well in fact) so I'm not sure about the lifespan thing.

Put pots in your border to fill the gap while you give the grass a rest.  And pot up the self-seeded seedlings that you're bound to have so that you have new plants if they don't pull through.

[ACE]

I find that grasses when disurbed tend to rot in the roots if they are too wet. Yours sound like some of my first attempts

I have had greater success by potting on the divisions in a well draining compost (50% sharp sand) and keep them under a lean too cover so I can control the amount of water they get. When the new shoots start I then put them out to face the elements.

Haircuts are a different matter, depending on the type of grass, time of year,and winter decoration. The tissies only ever get a good brush out to get rid of the damaged bits.

[Garden Manager]

Thanks for the advice. Plants are now cut down, with pots of annual grasses (that I just happened to have available ;D) placed in the gaps.

Fingers crossed for recovery. :-\ ???

[ceres]

Good luck and let us know how they go!