WHEN FANCY GRASSES SHOULD BE GATHERED

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 105, 28 January 1938, Page 18

WHEN FANCY GRASSES SHOULD BE GATHERED

Many amateurs who sowed the special mixtures of fancy grasses offered by seedsmen will now be wanting to know exactly how to gather and dry the grasses for winter decorative purposes. They have gone too far, and it is useless to gather them, when the inflorescence is fully developed and pollen dust spills out on to the hands when the grass heads are shaken. At this stage fertilisation has taken place, and with their work done, the “petals” will ■be loose in their sockets, dropping later. By carefully examining the heads of your grasses daily from now on you must try to get them at the stage when the spike has fully developed yet the pollen cases have not burst. They are then just right for cutting, with as long stalks a s possible, early in the morning before the sun shines on them, but when they are free from dew. The next step is to get all moisture out of the grasses. Do this by spreading them out in a thin single layer on sheets of paper’ in full sunshine during the day, taking them indoors at night. If you expose them thus for several days they will get thoroughly dry and ready for tying in bunches and storing away in a cool, airy room, until required for use. You may also find it worth knowing that the seed vessels of love-in-a-mist make excellent decorative material when dried. Before the seed vessels burst and before rain spoils them, cut the foliage, bunch together, and keep in a cool, dry room. The same applies both to humea elegans and celosia, but success with these depends a great deal upon allowing them to get thoroughly dry at the root previous to cutting them.