Time to chop down Karl Foerster

It’s the time of year to chop down ‘Karl Foerster’, don’t worry it’s a grass not a person! Official name Calamagrostis × acutiflora – tall grass to most of us.

I discovered this grass about six years ago, when a neighbour gave me a clump in a large pot after splitting his own.

Now at this point I would normally say, “beware of other gardeners baring free plants”! They are usually things that spread like a weed, but not always.

This neighbour is a particularly good gardener with some lovely plants in his gorgeous garden borders. He told me that it was a well behaved grass and that it stays upright, well he wasn’t wrong!

Whatever the weather throws at this grass, it just straightens back up again. The rain in particular can have it bent so far over it can nearly be touching the ground, but as soon as it drys out it’s back up again, it’s amazing!

It’s probably one of my most higher prized plants in the garden, offering something all through the year. It even looks good at night!

The Grassy Border

The grassy border separates the patio from the kitchen garden, and despite the fact that I think vegetables can be just as good to look at as ornamental flowers, I did want some separation.

I originally wanted tall flowers in this border but after I’d discovered this Karl Foerster grass it was a done deal. I carefully split the large clump my neighbour had given me and planted it all along.

Over the years as the grass has bulked up I’ve realised that the flowers I’d planted in-between it weren’t really working, so I’ve been gradually taking them out. I love the net curtain effect that the grass gives, especially when the sun shines through it.

Spring

The cycle starts now as lush green grass starts to grow, it’s incredible how quickly it gets up to 5-6 feet again. Seemingly out of no-where the dark burgundy flower heads, known as ‘florets’ appear, and I have my net curtain back again.

Summer

The florets open into full, fluffy, seed heads. They always remind me of candy floss. At this point ‘every’ year, the weather gods decide to send torrential rain and gale force wind. I hardly dare to look out of the window as ‘Karl Foerster’ is bent to the ground. Some seed heads do break off, but there are so many that it’s unnoticeable.

Autumn

The seed heads turn golden and look magical as the lowering sun shines through them. I have quite a few pots that sit in front of the grass, all the later flowering plants seem to be pink and really stand out against the gold.

Winter

By winter even the stems have turned golden. There isn’t much left of the seed heads now and as the whole plant is completely dead it has no weight to it. This really helps with the weather conditions as the wind just blows through it and even the snow doesn’t bend it.

It remains upright and still offers a thin veil between the different areas.

As the winter comes to an end and the weather starts to warm, the first green shoots start to appear and we find ourselves back at the beginning.

Let’s get Chopping!

Each March as the lush green grass starts to grow again, it’s time to chop the old growth down.

For four years I got my kneeling pad out, knelt down and chopped the grass with my secateurs, it was a long winded job that always left me with an aching back and an aching hand, but last year…

On the 5th March last year after I’d been at it for half an hour, I stretched a little and my back went into one of the worst muscle spasms I’ve ever had. How could grass cause that amount of pain!

The job was left incomplete for a few weeks as I believed I’d be back out there soon enough. Unfortunately it became apparent that I wouldn’t be up to, or rather down to the job in time.

As the new growth was getting ever higher the garden apprentice came up with the ingenious idea of cutting it with the hedge trimmer. Why hadn’t I thought of that four years ago!!!

So, we have a new, efficient, back saving way of chopping ‘Karl Foerster’. I came up with the idea of tying it up first, which quite honestly takes longer than the chopping.