Daily Dose Blogger Bios
No Country For Old Grass
Grasses look so beautiful right now.
This is the time of year I always cut back my perennial grasses. The one I always hesitate over is Stipa tennuissima, Mexican Feather Grass. It looks so great! All that blond wispiness blowing in the slightest breeze- tough but pretty, fresh, sexy ... it is the grass version of a surfer chick.
But cut it back I must! Because if I don't cut it to a 4 inch nub right now, by summer it will no longer be the cute blond surfer chick grass, it will be the old blond poser rastafarian hippie grass. Stipa has a tendancy to get big dreadlocks that suck the pretty right out of it. A dreadlocked stipa, much like the poser rasta hippie, has very little visual appeal in a garden.
Many gardeners fear the wanton seeding of the various stipas. Much like Euphorbia wulfenii, stipa will take over your garden if left to its own devices. Cutting the grass back as soon as the blond seeds begin to emerge (when the hair becomes frizzy) is one solution, but then the charm of the stipa is also gone. I value the fluffy cornsilk tufts - they are a wonderful foil for my smooth skinned succulents. My solution is good old fashioned weeding and editing - I only let a handful of the stipa babies grow up, and I mercilessly dig up any adult stipa when the urge strikes me.
Hey - nobody said gardeners had to be nice. Often we must be brutal. I may be a plant lover, but my love is a fearsome thing. Only the strong, well-placed, and best behaved survive!
Happy New Year, Germi! I only started gardening last year, so I haven't really cut anything back yet. I planted euphorbia wulfenii in March and it has grown robustly (but no flowers yet)-- when should I cut it back?
Happy New Year Chanchow! How's 2008 been for you so far? Cold, right? Brrrrrrrrr... people in northern states will laugh at how I shiver when the thermometer plummets to 53 degrees!
Your Euphorbias wulfenii are getting ready to blossom, so don't even think about touching them yet! The exact time of bloom varies from year to year, but most E. wufenii bloom in early spring; late Feb - early March, and then they'll stay flowery for a nice long time. You will be so happy! I still love the leafy euphorbias just as much as I did when I first met them; time hasn't dimmed my passion. Chartreuse blooms? Be still my foolish heart!
When the blooms start drying on the plant, you should do your cutting. Wear latex or vinyl gloves under your garden gloves so you won't get the sap on your skin (irritating), then grab the bloom stalk and cut at the very bottom, next to the crown of the plant. When you've cut all of the bloom stems, you'll be left with a little mound of baby stems covered in fresh foliage - those will bloom next year.
Enjoy, neighbor!
So pretty! Seems to me like the cutting back is a perfect excuse to shake all those seeds out and stick the whole bunch in a huge vase inside for a few weeks. Or if you bound the base of the bunch and put it in a nice heavy vase, you could leave it outside on the patio for the decorative value!
Kate darling! Hi! How's Boston treating you after your European romp?
You bring up a great point about grasses - one that I need to be reminded of ... for some reason, I rarely use grasses in a vase. And they are beautiful!
I'll do it and post the photo...
Always inspiring you are, Kate!
the new year has been good so far. i love how we've gotten so much rain, although now i'm ready for some sun! thanks for the tips. i'll wait til later this year to chop back my euphorbia. once i've done that, do you think it's ok to move the plant? will the roots be too established? the reason i ask is that i planted it too close to the wall and i think it might be better to move it a couple feet... thanks as always!
Hi. I just discovered your blog this week and I really enjoy your energy and humor! I can tell you are a fun person and it puts a smile on my face to read your posts.
Shirley
Edenmaker Shirley, thank you SO MUCH for the kind words ... I'm glad you're enjoying yourself when you visit The Germinatrix! I have alot of fun writing these posts, and I am thrilled when people get a smile or two reading them.
Did you find me via Garden Rant? Those women over there - what powerhouses! I am truly in awe of them...
Oops - Chanchow ... I forgot to respond to your question about transplanting your E. wulfenii. Forgive me? Here goes:
You can move it after you cut out the flowering stems, but to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't. Within a few years, you are going to have so many euphorbias planted by nature in the most extraordinary places (via the self-seeding process). Even if you feel the euphorbia is too close to the fence right now, as it grows (and they get pretty big in the summer) you might feel different. I'd let it sit there for a while unless it's REALLY bothering you where it is. I like to 'cuddle' plants close to things like walls, stairs, and pots - I think it looks more natural than evenly spacing things.
Did I help you or confuse you? Oh dear...
Oh, I practice my ruthlessness on those Stipa babies regularly. They come up in my pot o' cacti, and I have to use tweezers to pull them out. What a pretty plant it is otherwise.
We have to stand together, Chuck - those of us who have no pity for stipa babies. I only let the ones who have placed themselves perfectly live!
Know what I do? I brush that surfer chick's hair with a comb! Buh bye seed heads and she looks blond and beautiful again.
angela@garden bliss
http://sacgardening.blogspot.com
The stipa here in TN gets a haircut mid June, so it can grow back by winter for that elusive winter interest. It is planted on a hill right outside the patio doors and gives movement to the garden in the slightest breeze. Love it!
Fairgarden - what a great idea! Why didn't I think of that? Duh! If I add my Stipa to my July cutbacks, I can enjoy the spring/early summer beauty, avoid the dreadlock, add another season of interest, AND the seedling issue will be dealt with!!!
Where have you BEEN all my life???
This is why I LOVE the blogosphere so much. We are ALL teachers. What a great community! Thank you thank you thank you, Fairgarden - we will all benefit from your wisdom.
How did I miss you, Norcalangela?
What kind of comb do you use? I guess I've got to get myself to a Beauty Supply store and give my stipa girls a hair-do!
Maybe I'll french braid their hair and we can talk about boyfriends!
LOL... I use a wide-tooth comb, by the way. It just takes a sec and eliminates the seedy looking dreads. Blondes with dreads... kind of a hard thing to pull off (unless you're Anne Lamott), especially in L.A.
I'm surprised L.A. nurseries haven't started selling extensions for recently shorn grasses yet. ;-)
Wait a minute! That's brilliant Norcalangela - you could market this - Stipa Extensions! Grass Wigs! Lawn Toupees! Home Shopping Network here we come...
Hi Germi,
Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I found out about you through my ranting friends. You and I are "L.A. landscaping peeps." Keep up the great work and pop in to my blog when you have a moment! edenmakersblog.com
Shirley
okay, everybody has to check out Edenmaker's blog, because she is super-cool and it is just like watching a tv show!