Does Anybody Burn their Ornamental Grasses?

[muggyruggy]

I have found that by burning off the dead foliage of ornamental grasses in the early spring, the grasses come back more lush and full. Has anybody else encountered this? I thought my Father in law was nuts when I saw him do it but it actually improves the plant! The times I did not do this in early spring, my grasses were kind of ugly looking with the tired dead grass intertwined with the new growth, and did not grow as lush or tall.

I love finding new secrets to good gardening!

[gardeningmom]

How exactly do you do the burning without setting the whole thing on fire? I do agree that the grasses do look a bit messy with the dead grass intertwined.

[muggyruggy]

Well you actually do set the whole thing on fire. You do this in the early spring before new growth starts to grow. Just lite it on fire and let it burn all the dried up stuff off. Then when you are done you will have what looks like a burnt looking stump. Dont let it burn too long, just long enough to get the dead stuff off. BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR HOSE TURNED ON AND READY so you can have water ready if something goes wrong. (ya never know with fire). When you think it is all burned off you can spray it with the hose and stop the heat and your're done. Just wait for new growth to emerge and you will see a difference. (I would only do this on well established grasses, not newly planted ones)

[AlphaDog]

You get the same exact result my mowing it down in the spring before new growth starts. Same concept. That's what I do every year.