To Cut or Not to Cut?

That is the question. Everyone is wondering when is the best time to cut back the perennials and grasses. Wait. Patience. Just ignore it if you can. If you can’t and you just have to cut it, then read this first, then cut. I get it, things look dead, they are brown, it’s ugly. I get it, I really do. Thing is that most things aren’t dead. They just got beat up.

This past winter storm we had in December was a doozie for a lot of reasons. 1) It was the first freeze of the season, and it was BRUTAL. Things did not have a chance to acclimate to the cooler temps, did not have a little freeze to harden them off, nothing- it just rolled in and was one of the coldest, windiest, worst snaps ever. Aren’t you tired of hearing that- worst ever? Everything is a new record!! Anyway, that is for another day. 2) Not only was it the first snap, but it was also below-freezing for a really long time. So, on top of the fact, it was warm, and things were happy, and content and the temps dropped, they stayed below freezing for a long time. 3) The wind. The wind beat up so many things that would normally have not minded whatsoever in regard to the temps and even how long it was that cold. So, all of these three things combined made for the most un-perfect of storms.

Shrubs

Your tough evergreen shrubs that look brown and ugly are likely a result of the winds. Just give them time, they should push out new leaves and recover. Do not go cutting on these as you don’t know how far back, they might be damaged. Leaving everything in place on the shrubs will help them if we get another freeze as well as preserve their energy while they recoup. If you start cutting on them, they will start going into growth mode and you don’t want that right now. It’s only January – yes, we have already had 80-degree days and will have more but it’s still January.

Perennials

When to cut perennials (flowering plants…Lantana, Salvia, etc…). It is tempting to cut the perennials all the way down, I know. Don’t. These are brown but this is totally normal. They do that when it freezes. They will come back from the roots. Sometimes they will come back from the stalks/ branches which is another reason we say to leave them be. They might come back from what you see above ground. A customer the other day said she came in and pulled out all her dead Lantana- nooooooo!!! They more than likely are not dead, just dormant. Leave them be all of them for now. If you have to cut these, I have inserted a photo of where to cut them to clean it up a little. As it gets later in the season you can cut more but for now, this is as far back as I would advise cutting. This protects the plant if we have another cold snap.

Grasses

This is a personal thing really. Grasses turn brown after a freeze and some people like it and some people don’t. Either way, I would still leave them for now, but these, like perennials, will come up from the roots. One thing to remember on grasses (and all your dormant plants) they are dormant, therefore not using a lot of energy/ water so water sparingly. You don’t want to rot them.

The photos show before and after in the perennial and ornamental grass landscape. There is Salvia Leucantha, Mexican Bush Sage, Artemisia, Panicum Northwind Grass, and Feathertop Grass. Our suggestion is to cut the Artemisia and Salvia to the line and leave the grasses. This is a great example of the impact of the wind. In typical Austin freeze weather, the Artemisia would have been evergreen, but the wind and temps had other plans…