Hello,
My new calamagrostis plants have been damaged by the high winds - most of the leaves are bent and the plants are looking very sorry for themselves. If I cut them down to the ground will they re-grow at this time of year?
Thanks!
Possibly.
But you have forever tarnished Aesop's fable of the Oak and the Reeds:
A very large Oak was uprooted by the wind and thrown across a stream. It fell among some Reeds, which it thus addressed: "I wonder how you, who are so light and weak, are not entirely crushed by these strong winds." They replied, "You fight and contend with the wind, and consequently you are destroyed; while we on the contrary bend before the least breath of air, and therefore remain unbroken, and escape."
Stoop to conquer.
Because they're newly planted, I'd leave them alone this year. If you have to do the neat and tidy garden thing, put some bamboo stakes around and make a little cage with string to get the leaves off the ground.
Right now, they need all the photosynthetic area they can get.
There have been some studies with perennial plants... leaving old "dead" leaves on the plant is actually beneficial for many species -- they serve as a nutrient reservoir for the plant, even though they look "bad". The usual garden cleanup may actually be detrimental.
Kay
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