Pruning: ornamental grasses
As new shoots appear, it’s time to cut out the old growth of ornamental grasses, says
The spring season really begins to unfurl in March. Daffodils are fully flowering and shoots are breaking through the warming soil. Slugs and snails that have been hibernating are beginning to emerge, so protecting young shoots from them will be paramount – as well as giving everything a good mulch and sowing seeds indoors.
It’s also a period of watching and waiting. At some point this month you can really get underway with spring tasks, but some jobs will have to wait, for example, soil may still be waterlogged, so will become compacted when walked on. Equally, the nights will still be too cold for planting any of your tender plants outside.
The birds have now built their nests and, with emerging insects and flowers, there is food aplenty, so the ornamental grasses and herbaceous perennials you’ve been leaving for birds to feed on throughout winter can now be removed. It is also the perfect time to rejuvenate shrubs with a prune, so now is your last chance to get blackcurrants, gooseberry bushes and roses into shape.