Managing Pampas Grass

Hi Xela depends how brave you are.Used to work on large estate and we set fire to them,the new green leaf is impervious to fire and this process mimicks how they are naturally contained by grass fires. By stuffing paper in the centre and lighting it this quickly burns the old sheath if worried by this have a bucket of water handy but it wont burn for long.Alternatively you can dig around perimetre of plant and remove this years growth.

Well, I know Paul has pyrotechnic tendancies ( he was sending burning newspaper up his flue this morning to deter the jackdaws from nesting in his chimney) but he was not impressed with setting fire to his pampas instead of raking and combing it when I suggested it might be an easier way of achieving the desired effect ..... not sure the reaction will be polite if I suggest your alternative either :-D
Ah well, that's life!
Many thanks for your advice.

That's what I did a couple of weeks ago; set fire to it. My Pampass was huge & I wanted to divide & move it. When the old growth had burned off it went out then we lifted it, divided it & cut back the foliage to give that roots a better chance. Now I have 2 smaller plants which are doing fine & will soon be grown as big as before I'm sure.

Xela ~ I love pampas grass and am going to check and see if they grow well in my area. We had them growing up and Mother would cut some and stick them in water with food color to decorate for whatever season she needed, and it only took a couple days for the tops to be colored. They sure do add to decor.

If you have young children do be careful where you plant it ,the leaves are lethal and can give the unwary a very nasty cut ,they are so sharp. Yes set fire to it is the best by i notice it is close to your house!!!

I have heard that fires do work really well in keeping the pampass grass in check and it doesn't do it any harm although I'm pretty sure when it's dry it will go up really quickly which might be a little scary to watch.Hel.xxx.