The species-appropriate care of cat grass includes, among other things, regular pruning. You may be hesitant about cutting the grass yourself since it is intended to serve as a nutritional supplement for your pet. However, you can be sure that pruning will encourage new growth and you can hardly go wrong - especially if you follow the following tips.
How do I cut my cat grass correctly?
Cat grass should be cut regularly to avoid the formation of flowers, woodiness and brown shoot tips. Cut it before flowering and, depending on the species, shorten it to a few centimeters above the ground, except for indoor bamboo.
Why does cat grass need to be cut?
- You can no longer feed flowering cat grass to your cat.
- As the flowers form, the stalks become woody and become sharp-edged. Your cat could then get injured.
- If the stalks become too long, the shoot tips turn an unsightly brown color.
- Pruning promotes new growth.
Cutting cat grass
The species is crucial
How hard and how often you cut your cat grass depends largely on the type of grass. Cat grass comes in two different varieties:
- as sweet grass (barley, oats, indoor bamboo and wheat)
- as sour grass (Cyprus grass)
The native grain varieties grow quickly and therefore need to be cut quite often. However, growth is slower with indoor bamboo. As a rule, it does not recover particularly well from a severe pruning. You have to be patient for a long time until the stalks have reached their old length. In addition, it loses its beautiful growth habit if it is pruned.
Time
Cat grass is cut regardless of the season. It is crucial that you shorten it before flowering. In addition, pruning should always be done when the stalks become too long and hang limply.
How much to cut back?
Apart from the indoor bamboo, you can cut the cat grass to a few centimeters above the ground. New shoots will soon form. In most cases, radical pruning leads to even stronger stalks.
