Every wise gardener appreciates the value of monkey grass; they don’t monkey around with their monkey grass. They clipped down their monkey grass on time, which is something that most homeowners miss.
Monkey grass’s darker and lighter green leaves, when exposed to the sun, give your yard an appealing facelift with no upkeep. Trimming monkey grass is not required, but it is necessary if you want a beautiful look. As the leaves of the monkey grass mature, the tips begin to brown, giving the plant a rough appearance.
That being said, if you have been wondering when do you cut monkey grass back, you are not alone; many people have been questioning.
Read on to learn more.
Contents
What is Monkey Grass?
If you reside in Atlanta, I’m sure you’ve seen this Asian native grass. Monkey grass is a robust, fine-textured, ground-hugging ornamental grass that requires minimal care.
This grass is an excellent border and groundcover. It grows swiftly to form a green carpet with arching blades of 6 to 12 inches in the shade with a sunray screen.
In addition, it is rarely affected by foot traffic, diseases, or insects. It gives you two of the greatest to pick from; one that spreads and one that clumps.
How to plant monkey grass
Most people confuse monkey grass with turfgrass; however, this grass makes an excellent garden frame. How you plant it is more important to get the most out of it.
When planted in full sun, the leaves of the monkey grass tend to be pale green; however, when planted in partial shade, the leaves tend to be darker. As a result, the place you choose will be more critical.
The best time to sow monkey grass is in the early spring. First, prepare the soil by removing non-organic materials and tilling the area 10 inches deep.
After that, combine the loosened dirt with fertilizer and drill a hole that is broader than the grass’s root ball. Set the monkey ball grass in the hole, then fill it up to the soil line level and tamp it down. Water your grass afterward to help it build deep roots.
When do you cut monkey grass back?
Trimming the monkey grass is not required, but if you want your evergreen ground cover to be in good appealing form all year, you must take the chore actively, especially during the cold seasons. The issue is that many people don’t know when to clip their monkey grass, and they end up having yellowed monkey grass that can even die back to the roots.
The charm of your monkey grass will be washed away by battered old leaves with yellow tips, and the blueberries that follow the gorgeous little lavender blossom typically persist in spikes into winter.
Monkey grass is tough grass, but as the temperatures drop, even the foliage that has remained green all season will begin to wear, forming yellow or brown tips that will not add much to the aesthetic of your yard. Fortunately, fresh branches begin to grow through the plant’s border in early spring, bringing new life to your monkey grass.
To make place for the new shoot, you will need to prune back the old leaves in the early or mid-spring before the new shoots grow. Avoid pruning fresh shoots that have already emerged because they will have dull tips for the remainder of the year.
See also: How do you edge grass around a vinyl fence?
The perfect timing
The perfect time to trim your monkey grass varies from region to region, depending on the climate. However, make it a good practice to trim your monkey grass anytime it is actively growing, remove any dead tissues and ensure you maintain it at the height of 3 inches tall.
Otherwise, you can trim your monkey grass in mid-February to late March before the new shoot emerge, especially if you are in the regions of the southern latitudes and lowland elevations. But if you are in areas further north, trim in the mid to late March.
I live in Florida, and the best time I trim my monkey grass is between late February to early March.
See also: Top-rated fertilizer for yellow grass
Tips for trimming monkey grass
Trimming monkey grass is not as simple as many gardeners claim. The tool you use to trim the grass will be significant, and the age of the clump will determine the instrument you choose.
Pruning shears can be used to prune back small patches. However, this is not the case with older clusters. Older vast clumps of monkey grass are tough and tricky to cut through; a suitable alternative is to cut them with a lawnmower set to its highest setting or a trimmer.
Your tool should always be sharp, and the plant should be cut down to 3 inches.
Gather the arching leaves with one hand, lifting them from the base and trimming lone-standing old bunches. You may also clear the dead leaf thatch with your hands by forming your finger into a rake and running it through the clumps to thin the dead leaves. Take care not to harm the newly sprouting shoots.
See also: Tips for controlling spreading of monkey grass
Cleaning up after pruning and properly disposing of the cut leaves will keep the nice area while reducing the likelihood of your monkey grass contracting fungal illnesses such as anthracnose.
Mulch your monkey grass to keep weeds at bay. It’s no secret that monkey grass is tough, but to keep it looking good, trim and mulch it, apply fertilizer, and water it regularly. You won’t be sorry.
Monkey grass is a popular decorative grass that many gardeners enjoy, and just like any other perennial ornamental grass, early spring care is critical, yet trimming it back seems to catch us off guard.
We are astonished when we detect new growth on our monkey grass, and by then, it is too late to prune down and remove old foliage from your ornamental grass.
When do you cut monkey grass back? You asked, and now you know when and how to cut it properly. If you look after your monkey grass, it will not monkey out of your yard.
