Help! Ornamental grass

[Kittyluvr400]

Last year I planted purple fountain grasses in a new garden. By late August they started to lean and looked awful. Since they were an annual, I removed them because they weren't looking good from sagging. I also had 2 other perrenial grasses that grown about 7 feet. This year they added another foot and now they are also leaning. They were beautiful last yr, but just grew too high this year. I tried staking them, but now the entire grass leans with the stakes.

If I were to cut them back a bit, before the sagging starts, will they look ugly? I imagine the blades with come to an abrupt stop, rather than thinning out at their tops. If I were to trim them, would the blades stay abrupt, or will they thin out as they grow back...plus will they still bloom come October....or will I basically be butchering it?

Tried to attach a picture, but my pictures (files) are too big to allow me to add it.

Thanks for any help,
Rose

[imafan26]

I had pampas grass once, and all I did was cut them back when they started leaning out. They always grew back. I had to take mine out because although it is beautiful, it reseeds.

[Kittyluvr400]

What does it mean when you say it reseeds? I see mention to that a lot.

[rainbowgardener]

Means it drop seeds which then sprout on their own the next spring. Often used re annual plants in the sense that this plant doesn't come back from the roots like perennials, but it does come back the next year from seeds it dropped. Can be a good thing for plants you want to come back, but plants that "freely re-seed" can get a bit aggressive.

[Kittyluvr400]

Thanks for your help.

I think I was overwatering and fertilizing too much as well. I watered everyday, plenty on each individual plant. I will see how it goes next year if I cut back a bit. Maybe twice a week watering, and skip the fertilizer, just for my overgrown plants.