How to Prune Sweet Grass

Sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata) is also known as holy grass and vanilla grass. It is a perennial herb considered a weed by some but a sweet-scented garden ornamental by many others. Sweet grass emerges and flowers early in spring, giving off a sweet hay or vanilla fragrance derived from the compound coumarin, according to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. The pronounced fragrance is what makes it so desirable for decorative use. As with any perennial herb, sweet grass readily recovers from pruning.

Things You'll Need

• Pruning shears or clean household scissors

Instructions

1. Harvest fresh blades of the grass in spring for use in pomanders and for drying. Cut the desired number of blades from the crown of the plant, just above the soil line.

2. Groom the plants positioned in garden beds or pots throughout the growing season to keep them looking green and tidy. Trim out as you find them any dead, diseased or discolored individual blades down to the crown at the soil line.

3. Prune and clear away all dead top growth in late winter or early spring to make way for new spring shoots. Remove all blades down to the crown. In warm climates, where the entire clump does not completely die back, you may opt to selectively prune out just dead or damaged tissues and maintain the rest.

References

• Brooklyn Botanic Garden: A Garden oif Shade Loving Herbs - Hierochloe odorata Holy Grass, Sweet Grass
• University of Texas at Austin Wildflower.org: Hierochloe odorata (L.) Beauv. Sweetgrass,
• University of Florida Cooperative Extension:Ornamental Grasses - Low Maintenance with a Flair