Cutting and tidying pampas grass?

[bobnewboy]

Hi All,

We’ve been trying to catch up with our gardening following the extremely wet winter and spring. One of the jobs I’m facing is to tidy and trim right back our large clump of pampas grass in the back garden. The plant has totally engulfed the section of garden where it is placed.

In the past I have tried several garden tools, including a petrol powered strimmer, brush cutter and an old chain saw. The chain saw worked for dividing the plant, but all of these are pretty useless against the leaves and what is left of the flower stems. I’m now thinking that I need some kind of bladed implement to cut the plant right back to a neat stump. Then I can decide whether to divide the plant - to make it smaller overall - before it starts growing again.

Do you have any recommendations? I would look to borrow a bladed implement from neighbours or friends as this only needs doing once every five or so years. Let me know what you think is best in this case.

Cheers, Bob

 

[Mesquite]

If you can, the easiest way to tidy it up each year in situ is to set light to it so all the leaves are burnt off.

 

[Toddy]

Sorry, cross posted with Mesquite

Machete or billhook.
I have a Martindale machete and it made short work of a neighbour's clump a few years ago.
That stuff is tough though, I had to resharpen four or five times to get through it all.
Watch your hands too, I ended up with festering scratches and a bit of the stem slivered under my skin next to my ring finger. Not fun.

Burns really well though

 

[Kepis]

As above, burn it, chap over the road from me had a huge Pampas in the front garden, it didn't last long once it had been ravaged by fire and poisoned with the petrol he used to get it going, was a fun afternoon watching him do it though

 

[Pattree]

Percy Thrower, a local TV gardening presenter about 50 years ago had an Oops moment on live TV burning pampas grass. He lost his nerve. He wouldn’t have killed it if he’d let it burn.

Do I remember an ?American? You tube presenter setting fire to a different fuel with a ferro rod each week of the year - something like that. His pampas demo was spectacular as I remember it.

 

[slowworm]

If you intend to keep the grass growing then burning whilst the plant base is wet would seem wise, and also take care of the fire from spreading.

I would have thought a decent hedge trimmer would allow you to cut back much of the old grass blades and the old flower stems.

 

[demented dale]

i just looked it up. does it have any bush craft use? x

 

[Pattree]

The dead flowers take a spark big time.

 

[Moondog55]

Diesel and a match

 

[Pattree]

I think the OP wants to control it rather than kill it.

Burn it down.
Dig it out.
Chop it up.
Chuck some out.
Plant some back in.

Good preposition is the key to horticulture.

 

[Moondog55]

OK
It's considered a weed species here and people are discouraged from planting it due to the extreme fire danger they present.

 

[Kadushu]

A good hedgcutter will trim the leaves back or if you want to cut it really close then a chainsaw becomes the better tool but it will blunt the chain pretty easily once you get into the humus. Burning it is technically fine but it doesn't look pretty.

 

[bobnewboy]

Thanks all. I think we’re going to skip any burning as there are crops in the fields around us and a couple of thatched cottages further down in the village. I could stand over the fire with a hose but I wouldn’t want it embering along for hours on end, only to break into flames again when my back is turned.

The leaves have very sharp edges and will easily cut into stray fingers so gloves are a must. They are also extremely tough, so much so that our hedge cutter doesn’t really cut them and a fast strimmer just ends up a tangled mess. We have an old small chainsaw bar and chain so that will come into play to divide up the plant later, but I think I’ll be looking to borrow a bill hook, sickle or similar. I just wanted to be sure I hadn’t missed out on any other tricks !

 

[Mesquite]

Have you tried a brush cutter blade on your strimmer? Assuming you've got a petrol strimmer.

It ought to be fine so long as you take it slow and steady