How To Grow Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses have become very popular over the past decade or so, and if you buy them in the garden center it is expensive. Learning to raise yourself is very easy. They can be grown from seed, but I will not make myself an expert on that for several reasons. First, I know nothing about growing them from seed, and secondly, I have no desire to propagate them from seed because the seedlings need a lot of care. The simplest and most effective way to spread them is by simple separation. Of course, you will need at least one plant that is the parent of the variety you would like to grow. If you shop nearby you may be able to get 4 ″ pots per inch at a reasonable price. One of the varieties is good at first. I find that the best time of the year to separate them is in the spring, just before the new growth emerges. If you buy stock plants in early spring, you may be able to differentiate them quickly. If you buy them at any other time of the year, just plant them in your garden or another suitable place, knowing that you will grow them in a few months, or a year or more. When spring comes you can separate them at any time as long as they are not well established for new growth. At first, it is better. To separate them simply dig up the root mass and begin to divide it into pieces. The divergence should not be too large. It is difficult to explain, but as long as you have some roots, a new plant may grow. If you have very small plants you may just split the root with your hands, but if the root weight is too big you will need some tools. You may need tools for heavy work! Last spring I separated several grass plants that had been in my area for a few years. When I dug the root it was much bigger and denser than I expected. Using a very good digging spade and real elbow strength I was able to determine the root weight and make it a quarter and re-planted the living spaces in my area. That left a lot of lumps I wanted to split into very small plants that I could put in 2-quart containers. The root weight was too heavy for me to tear through my hands, so I found a hammer and a 4 ″ wide marble chisel and rubbed the pieces. It worked and now I have a few hundred good grass plants in 2-quart containers. Since then I have spoken to a friend of mine who works for a supermarket farmer, and he told me that you would never want to let an ornamental plant grow so big if you wanted to separate it. He said they planted small plots in the field in the spring, dug them the following spring, and divided them. He assured me that if he found them after 12 months, they could easily be torn apart by hand. That sounds so much more fun than I ever went through!