In January and early February, I drive by crews of landscapers bundled up in the cold, weed eaters spiting out gas fumes and roaring as blades whack down evergreen lirope and ornamental grasses.  Areas that had thick green foliage are reduced to dirt or thin mulch.   Graceful grouping of grasses that bent and rustled in the wind are now sawed off stubs.

“Not yet!!” I cry as I pass by and try to keep from swerving off the road. It’s still cold!

Although it is necessary to cut both of these back to encourage clean new growth, I prefer to wait closer to the time when tender new shoots are just about ready to come up from the bottom of the plant, say late February or early March.  Let’s try to keep the “ever” in evergreen as long as we can.

Christie lives in Manakin Sabot , Virginia where she manages a 3 acre garden. Her blogs are written from her 35 years as a personal and professional gardener.