I love cordless tools! I have a cordless pole saw and it is quite powerful, although I have never used it on grasses. It's probably too short a blade length. My grasses are not terribly big and my manual hedge shears usually are fine. Cordless Pole Saw But as far as power goes, it is plenty powerful and I see no reason why a similarly powered cordless hedge trimmer wouldn't be powerful enough for grasses. I can cut 4" branches with the cordless pole saw with no problems. I also have the B&D cordless trimmer and blower. They all share 4 niCad interchangeable batteries. If I run out of juice on a large job, I just reload a fresh battery. The trimmer, for example, can trim all my beds (15 or so? 1 acres worth) with one battery. The blower isn't as effective. Two batteries are needed to clear pine needles or debris off my 75' driveway and it is not effective on the lawn, but is extremely handy to use for frequent light touch-ups on walkways, etc. I'm a big fan of cordless lawn tools. I hate gas and cords. I also use a Neuton battery mower. At some point I might have to invest in new batteries but so far all is great for the past 3 seasons with all my cordless tools.

jjbjr, Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I cut my grasses back this past weekend. I like to wait until I see new basal growth coming up, but if I have grasses that are weather beaten, I'll usually cut them back even earlier. But, that's really just my preference not a hard fast rule. Commercial landscapes here, cut back grasses several weeks before I did, concerned with debris and tidiness more than I am. If your Miscanthus is still looking good and not creating debris and problems, you can leave it for another 4-8 weeks or so in zone 6, then cut back. If its appearance is such that you really need to clean it up, trim it back to about 18" above crown now and again 4-6" above crown when new growth is emerging. Look for signs of new fresh growth emerging in late March or April (depending on your winter this year) to let you know it's time to cut back.

'Little Nicky,' 'Little Bunny' and the blood grass need to be cut back to a few inches, now. The Pampas Grass, if it really is Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana), should be evergreen in your zone, so it may be dead. I'd cut it back as well, and hope for the best.

Cutting back the grasses early versus late can have a benefit to your grasses. This allows thje plant to warm up sooner and possibly start growing a week or so earlier than normal. Waiting until the right time to cut back whether it be " .. I've always cut my grasses at this time of year" or if you follow a book and wait until that certain week or time, can have the reverse effect then what I stated earlier. The warming of the ground and the plant crown are part of the growing cycle for grasses. But like any plant and not being able to control Mother Nature, plants sprouting too soon can cause your plants to suffer from late spring freeze or cold spell. As an ornamental grass grower I've tried most all avenues of cutting back and have had success w/ each and everyone and have had failures as well. Jkae