Spring is here, have you cut back your deciduous ornamental grasses yet? If not don't delay another day as the new growth has begun. Deciduous grasses don't have to be cut back yearly but they look much nicer if you do. It is also a good time to cut back over-sized New Zealand Flax (Phormium). I must admit I was a bit afraid of cutting a Flax to the ground but had been assured by a fellow gardener that this hardy plant would survive a radical haircut.
I have become a bit more ruthless in the past few years when it comes to taking chances with plants that are not behaving. For example,common Lavender is a plant that begins looking very woody and unattractive if it has not been pruned back yearly. I tell my clients that I can remove these plants and replace them with a fresh new one for about $10.00 or I can cut back the existing plant and wait. Sometimes these old Lavender plants come back from a good whacking, sometimes they die. In the old days I didn't want to kill any plant that still had life in it. Now I take my chances and just roll with the outcome.
I don't recommend radical rejuvenation pruning of all plants. But if you know the name of the plant you should be able to look it up in any good gardening/pruning book and get advice on what pruning methods are recommended. As a general rule radical renovative pruning should be done in late winter or spring right before the plants awaken from winter dormancy and after fear of hard frosts.





