Cutting blood grass - this is how it is done!


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Cutting blood grass - this is how it is done!: blood

The focal point in the care of blood grass is the expert pruning. The flaming play of colors of the stalks depends on a combination of preparation, timing and cutting. Whether you cultivate the Japanese ornamental grass in the bed or tub, also plays a role. This guide highlights all aspects in detail.

When is the best time?

To determine the right time for the pruning, a look at the frost resistance of the Japanese ornamental grass species 'Red Baron' is required. Since bloodgrass is assigned to winter hardiness zone Z6, it is considered to be hardy. A sunny, sheltered location alone is not enough to survive the cold season unscathed. The frost-sensitive plant heart is also dependent on the blades to ward off cold and wet conditions. Consequently, the time window for pruning opens in early spring, when no more severe ground frosts are expected and the fresh sprouts are imminent. Until then, the stalks act as a natural bulwark against winter hardships, even if they have long since died.
Tip: In the partially shaded to shady location you will look in vain for the red stalks. The unique foliage color unfolds only in full sun, protected locations.

Care: sharp grass edges

- Tips on tools and equipment -
If you underestimate the sharpness of the leaf margins, the name blood grass has a completely different meaning. The 1 to 3 cm wide leaf blades have finely toothed edges, which are peppered with silicate crystals. In direct skin contact deep cuts are not uncommon. Gardeners respectfully refer to ornamental grass as 'swordgrass'. Do not expose yourself to this risk of injury, but always put on stable gloves with long cuffs when care and cutting work is on the program.
The stiff, upright stakes are best cut with a stable, sharp one-handed bypass scissors or a hand saw. Bypass scissors have the advantage that they consist of two sharp blades and leave smooth cuts. In contrast, an anvil scissors first presses the stalks against a blunt surface so that the blade can sever them. The disadvantage of the operation is that the grass blades can get caught in the scissors and frayed cuts occur. Fungal spores and pests have been waiting for it to use the cuts as entry portals.
Tip: Japanese blood grass is only partially hardy north of the Alps. The best planting time for Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron' is therefore the spring. Thanks to this appointment, a young plant has enough time to root well until the first frost.

Preparation begins in the fall

Japanese Bloodgrass - Imperata cylindrica

Already in autumn, the course is set for a skilful pruning in spring. The following measure aims to protect the inner eyrie from the cold and winterly persistent wetness. How to do it right:
  • Tie the ornamental grass into a loose head before the first frost
  • Wrap a small eyrie with sisal cord
  • Tie a large eyrie to separate tufts
In winter-gray regions, a ring of foliage and brushwood protects the outer sides of the nest from frost and snow. Only in mild regions, such as on the Lower Rhine or in wine-growing regions, Japanese blood grass proves to be hardy even without this protective measure. In mild climates, you should still not be tempted to cut back the ornamental grass in the garden in the fall.

Cutting blood grass in the bed - that's how you do it right

As the winter comes to an end, the flame grass has long since ended its furious color festival. The deciduous plant has completely retracted all the stalks until February / March. To ensure that the dead plant material does not hinder the fresh shoot, a radical pruning opens the way for the young shoots. Please do not reach for the scissors until you have carefully examined the grass-ridge for feathered or furry winter guests. If animals have selected the ornamental grass for their winter quarters, postpone the cut until the sleeping caps are awake and undressed. Because Japanese blood grass shoots late in the year, they usually do not conflict with the budding. How to proceed:
  • Put on gloves and disinfect the tool
  • Cover a tuft of grass and cut off close to the ground
  • How to work progressively from the outer edge to the middle
At the end, collect all the stalks that have fallen into the eyrie.

Premature budding in the eyrie - what is to be done now?

As a result of increasing global warming, it is harder to estimate from year to year when the vegetation period begins in the garden. For the pruning of ornamental grasses, this involves the risk of missing the time of the fresh sprouting.A cut into the sprouting, green stalks results in brown spots forming on the cuts.
This damage is irreversible and damages the beauty of the flaming discoloration on late summer grass. If you have been surprised by a premature sprouting, this year's pruning will be canceled. Instead, comb out the eyrie with both hands. Repeatedly drive through the grass to remove all dead stalks. Trapped leaves in the edge area cut off close to the ground, as far as they are reachable with the pair of scissors and no green stems can get between the cutters.

Blood grass in the bucket - you should pay attention to this

cutting Japanese blood grass

The spectacular hybrid 'Red Baron' is often cultivated in the bucket to serve as a decorative privacy screen on the balcony and terrace. The lower substrate volume compared to the bed considerably limits the frost hardness. Since ornamental grass is already categorized as hardy in the field, potted plants should spend the cold season in winter quarters. Under the protected conditions in a bright, frost-free room, the choice of dates for the pruning is flexible. Alternatively, cut the stalks before autumnal clearing, during the winter or only after clearing out in the spring.

Recycle clippings cleverly - Tips & Tricks

The strength properties of Japanese blood grasses have the disadvantage that clippings on the compost significantly slows the rotting process. This disadvantage can be reversed if you reuse the cut stalks in the house and garden. The following options have worked well in daily practice:
  • Chop up and use as a mulch in the ornamental garden
  • Use whole stalks as a base for fruit that ripples like strawberries or pumpkins
  • Use as a loosening admixture to substrates for orchids and other epiphytes

In animal cages, the chopped grass is useful as litter. A greater amount of clippings are appreciated by owners of horses as pit litter.

Cutting blood grass - this is how it is done!

FAQ - 💬

❓ What is grass blood?

👉 Japanese blood grass (Imperata cylindrica) is a perennial plant. Its foliage begins green with slightly tinged red tips and matures to the blood red color for which it is known. The plants get only about 2 feet (61 cm.) in height and are clumping rather than spreading grasses.

❓ How do you grow Bloodgrass?

👉 Growing easily in a dense clump about 12-18 in. tall (30-45 cm) and across, this perennial grass spreads by shallow moving rhizomes. It enjoys full sun or part shade and thrives in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils. The best foliage color is obtained in full sun.

❓ What is the grass that bleeds?

👉 How to Grow and Care for Japanese Blood Grass

Botanical NameImperata cylindrica
Common NameJapanese blood grass; cogongrass
FamilyPoaceae
Plant TypePerennial
Mature Size1 - 2 ft.
Сохраненная копия

❓ What is Japanese bloodgrass rubra?

👉 Imperata cylindrica is a noxious weed in many areas, but certain cultivars are grown as ornamental grasses in gardens. Imperata cylindrica is rhizomatous perennial grass native to east and southeast Asia, China and Japan. The species is an aggressive, green leaved plant also called cogon grass or kunai grass.

❓ What is green grass blood?

👉 Wheatgrass is the young grass of common wheat plant (Triticumaestivum Linn., family Poaceae) and it is also known as “green blood” because of its high chlorophyll content, i.e., 70% of its chemical composition.

❓ What goes with blood grass?

👉 For texture, interplant Japanese bloodgrass with other perennials grasses, such as Switchgrass, or red-tinged shrubs such as Berberis.

Video Board: The BEST Way to Prune Ornamental Grasses.

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