We just moved in and there about 4 or 5 of these all around the house. Should I cut them down, completely rip them out, or let them be? I don’t know what they are so I don’t know if they come back in the spring or what
cut them to the ground some type of Miscanthus sinensis
relationshipprofile
it’s decorative grass… I’d leave it be
KarmaLeon_8787
Whack them down to about 6-8″ OR until you see new green growth. Should have been whacked a few weeks ago but it’s not too late. They will come back. They are perennial. ADDED: Helpful hint – tie around with twine, whack and haul away with minimal mess!
Ok_Efficiency_2246
It’s a tall grass. Cut it back to about 2’ high every spring (like now) and new shoots will grow every year. New shoots will grow regardless, but it will look cleaner to cut it back in the spring.
iOpCootieShot
Chop it down to new growth. Looks a little neglected, its gonna come back more vigorous. Rake and mulch if you want.
CommonSkys
Ooh ooh we have these that we dry out over winter. When we host the first spring party after the snow has melted, we put them on the fire pit and the pop and spark like little fireworks. It’s really fun and doesn’t cause any big explosions, more like a bunch of those little snap popper filled with gunpowder you’d get in a box as a kid.
Milky87
Most of the time people cut them back in the fall then they come back the next year, I take a string and bunch it together take a hedge trimmer and cut it flat across about 8” inches you can probably see the old stalks where the last person cut it a little shorter won’t hurt it, really easy
Melodic-Matter4685
U can burn it.
DO NOT burn it.
Critical-Star-1158
If it wasnt so close to the house, a match works awesome to clean up last years stalks without damaging the new shoots.
CariHepeng
Cut it down or tilt the ground and get 1 or 2 tube of cheapest salt then sprinkle all i them evenly.
Meles_EnPiste
I mow it down with a lawn mower. You’re basically making a punji pit in your yard, so depending on how often dogs and small children are in your yard, you might want to wait until the spring to cut back the grass, which minimizes the length of time the danger is present in your yard.
That Chinese fire grass sprouts a lot later than other ornamental grasses, so waiting to trim in the spring isn’t a big deal. It also is super invasive.
pantaleonivo
I’d rip it out and replace it with something native to the continent. These east asian ornamental grasses are often invasive as hell
NoLobster5272
Take hedge trimmers and cut them about a foot high. They will grow back. If you don’t want them just rip them out.
Constant_Wear_8919
Replace
minkamagic
Do you still have freezing weather at night where you live? If so, leave them for now. Native bees hibernate in them and emerge when it’s warm enough 🙂
Astronaut6735
Scalp it. I cut mine down to a couple of inches winter/early spring.
VocationalWizard
I don’t like them, So I would look to removing them.
You two options are
A) mechanical – dig them out. Suffocate the remainders with cardboard.
B) chemical – kill the green with herbicide.
To manage it you can just cut down the dead stuff and green growth will come back.
19 Comments
cut them to the ground some type of Miscanthus sinensis
it’s decorative grass… I’d leave it be
Whack them down to about 6-8″ OR until you see new green growth. Should have been whacked a few weeks ago but it’s not too late. They will come back. They are perennial. ADDED: Helpful hint – tie around with twine, whack and haul away with minimal mess!
It’s a tall grass. Cut it back to about 2’ high every spring (like now) and new shoots will grow every year. New shoots will grow regardless, but it will look cleaner to cut it back in the spring.
Chop it down to new growth. Looks a little neglected, its gonna come back more vigorous. Rake and mulch if you want.
Ooh ooh we have these that we dry out over winter. When we host the first spring party after the snow has melted, we put them on the fire pit and the pop and spark like little fireworks. It’s really fun and doesn’t cause any big explosions, more like a bunch of those little snap popper filled with gunpowder you’d get in a box as a kid.
Most of the time people cut them back in the fall then they come back the next year, I take a string and bunch it together take a hedge trimmer and cut it flat across about 8” inches you can probably see the old stalks where the last person cut it a little shorter won’t hurt it, really easy
U can burn it.
DO NOT burn it.
If it wasnt so close to the house, a match works awesome to clean up last years stalks without damaging the new shoots.
Cut it down or tilt the ground and get 1 or 2 tube of cheapest salt then sprinkle all i them evenly.
I mow it down with a lawn mower. You’re basically making a punji pit in your yard, so depending on how often dogs and small children are in your yard, you might want to wait until the spring to cut back the grass, which minimizes the length of time the danger is present in your yard.
That Chinese fire grass sprouts a lot later than other ornamental grasses, so waiting to trim in the spring isn’t a big deal. It also is super invasive.
I’d rip it out and replace it with something native to the continent. These east asian ornamental grasses are often invasive as hell
Take hedge trimmers and cut them about a foot high. They will grow back. If you don’t want them just rip them out.
Replace
Do you still have freezing weather at night where you live? If so, leave them for now. Native bees hibernate in them and emerge when it’s warm enough 🙂
Scalp it. I cut mine down to a couple of inches winter/early spring.
I don’t like them, So I would look to removing them.
You two options are
A) mechanical – dig them out. Suffocate the remainders with cardboard.
B) chemical – kill the green with herbicide.
To manage it you can just cut down the dead stuff and green growth will come back.
But again I don’t like them.
Cut em down, they grow back.
Shrub cutters or weed whacker
You mean deez….