How to Grow Frosted Explosion Grass
How to Grow Frosted Explosion Grass
INTRODUCTION
If you’re going to plant a cutting garden, then Frosted Explosion Grass is a “must-grow” plant!
The gorgeous seed heads add irresistible sparkle, texture and elegance to bouquets and arrangements. It can be harvested and utilized at various stages, which makes it extremely versatile.
When the stems are young, the decorative seeds are a mix of lime green and red-brown. As the stems age, the seeds turn rich red-brown, and when the stems dry on the plant, they turn a dusky wheat color.
Frosted Explosion Grass is easy to grow, incredibly prolific, long-lasting in the vase AND it’s a great dried flower option.
What’s not to love?!?
Anytime you make a bouquet and think “Hmmm… it’s missing something…”, just grab a few stems of Frosted Explosion Grass and you’ll be shocked to see what a difference it makes!
Frosted Explosion Grass in bouquets
Let’s look at the Pros and Cons of growing Frosted Explosion Grass for cut flower use.
PROS
It’s easy to grow. It’s grass seed, after all!
It looks beautiful in nearly all bouquets and arrangements.
It’s an excellent “filler” that adds mass and volume to your bouquets with just a few stems (Translation: If you’re running short on flowers, the Frosted Explosion Grass will help make the bouquet look full and lush).
It’s long-lasting in the vase.
It looks beautiful when dried (either allow it to dry on the plant or hang fresh cut stems upside down to dry).
It’s “cut-and-come-again”. The more stems you harvest, the more stems it will grow.
CONS
It can be too productive! We can never keep up with harvesting all the stems! Do your best to harvest on a regular basis to keep the plants productive. If you stop harvesting, the plants will go completely to seed and stop growing new stems.
It can be a bit tricky to harvest as the plants can get unruly.
HOW TO SOW
Frosted Explosion Grass is easy to start from seed.
Transplants or Direct Sow?
I do not recommend direct sowing Frosted Explosion Grass, simply because it’s too easily mistaken as a weed when it's a small seedling.
Start the seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before planting out. Drop 2-3 seeds per cell, press down into the seed starting mix, then cover lightly with vermiculite or seed starting mix. Seeds germinate in 7-14 days.
Transplant the seedlings after the threat of frost.
For best results, I recommend planting 2-3 successions of Frosted Explosion Grass, about 2-3 weeks apart.
This will ensure you have a steady supply of stems for months.
PLANT SPACING
9-12 spacing works best for most growers.
Ethereal looking Frosted Explosion Grass in a centerpiece arrangement
GROWING ON
This grass is easygoing and undemanding. Once the seedlings are established, they need average amounts of water.
I do not recommend pinching or netting Frosted Explosion Grass.
About 6 weeks after the plants begin producing their beautiful seeded stems, they begin to fade and die back. This is why it’s useful to plant several successions, so you can abandon the old plants and harvest from the “fresher” ones.
This year, we experimented with “cutting back” the old plants with a weed whipper to see if they would re-bloom. We cut them back on August 14 and they DID rebloom about a month later, but the stems were much shorter… which makes sense because the plants need about 14 hours of light to produce long stems and we only have 13 hours of light in mid-September.
We may try it again, but cut back earlier in the season so the new stems can grow back when we have more daylight!
STAGE OF HARVEST
You can harvest Frosted Explosion Grass at any stage, from barely open to fully blown open. It all depends on personal preference.
Seeds emerge green, then fade to reddish brown.
Sometimes we want lime green seeds, sometimes we want reddish brown seeds and sometimes we want the ethereal faded wheat-colored stems. It just depends on what kind of bouquets and arrangements we are making!
Harvest regularly to encourage new growth.
However, if you plan on using them for dried flowers, allow stems to completely mature and dry on the plant before harvesting. This produces extra full and airy dried material.
Frosted Explosion Grass in bouquets
Frosted Explosion Grass in bouquets
POST-HARVEST CARE
Frosted Explosion Grass requires no special post-harvest care.
QUESTIONS?
Ask them here and I’ll get back to you!
Ready for more?
If you’re serious about growing the garden of your dreams this year, register for my online course, “Backyard Cutting Garden 101”. You’ll find everything you need to plan, grow, harvest and arrange your stunning blooms. I can’t WAIT to help you grow! Click on the button below for all the details.
