Ornamental Grass Seed Annual ?

I am considering growing a few ornamental grasses from seed for next season . Now there is a wonderful selection to choose from , 6" tall grasses to towering 10 foot pampas grass . But as usual I am confused on one thing. The grasses are either annual or perennial . Does this mean the annual grass grows once and dies in winter never to be seen again, or do you cut it back to 3" in spring and it regrows afresh from the roots ?
Perennial grass you just leave it and it continues growing ?

TIA

 

I hate pampas grass, once grown never rid of, sharp spiky leaves, i am no expert and have a few, I have a 5/6 ft miscanthus up a hard to get at corner, as you say I cut it back to 3" in spring, the "dead" fronds/tassels are lovely in winter. It needs splitting but can`t get into the clump, solid clump, I just keep leaving it to go it`s own way.
I get confused sometimes with the sedge grasses as some are very weed like and pull them out, then remember I bought it, .
i think they self seed a lot not sure about the annual/perennial part, most of them seem to be there all the time

 

I've got Stipa Tenuissima Harry, which is a perennial, but also seeds itself freely although the seedlings are easy to pull up. I love it - it's soft and fluffy and you can't resist running your hands through it when you walk past. I never cut it back, just pull out the dead growth in spring by using my hands to comb through it.

 

I think you can safely apply the wording Annual and Perennial in the same way to grasses as to any other plant you might grow from seed.
Not really into grasses, but I cant help thinking Annuals will grow and seed then die, whereas Perennials will take the first year to establish and perhaps not look their best until year two or three.

 

Well that applies to everything in the garden. Try telling that to our veggie growers
I will be buying a few grown grass types , but would like to have a go at growing one or two from seed . There is a bewildering choice though , so I need to do some research.

It's OK won't be growing Pampas grass . Someone has one a couple of streets down , it is huge must be 12 feet tall . You would need a JCB to remove it.

 

@Apple Blossom and I are the team for that

 

Well seems about time to start a few gardening posts , I think the EU and UK have just about been sorted by our team !
The ornamental grasses I am growing from seed have all now germinated.
Squirrel grass , Feathertop , Sirocco
I will move them out to a cool greenhouse soon , and prick them out in about 10 days . Now to prick out single grass stalks is crazy . So if I prick them out in clumps , how many to a clump approx ? Rather blurry pic below shows Feathertop about 16 stalks , so that would make 1 clump say. The Squirrel grass has about 200 stalks so split into 4 ? Does this seem about right.

 

Hi Harry,

Although they look like single grass stalks now remember that each one will grow into a separate plant.
I would prick them out so there are no more than three or four in each clump.

Also, are they all annuals or are there any perennials ? If there are any perennials, they would need to be grown on singly as you would with any other perennial plant grown from seed

 

Cheers @Anthony Rogers The three types I am growing are annuals and perennials . I find these terms for grasses a little confusing . OK the perennial type will keep going . The annuals if cut back each early spring should re-emerge / reseed ? I'll see how it goes

 

Hi Harry,

The terms are used the same for grass as any plant.

Annual = Any plant that germinates, grows, flowers, sets seed and dies within one year ( 12 month period ).

Perennial = Any plant that has a lifetime of longer than one year.

An annual that appears in the same place for more than one year has self-seeded. The original plant would have died.