Pampas grass?

[jhm47]

Has anyone had experience with Pampas grass? I have read both good and bad things about it. Please bear in mind that we live in an area with a fairly short growing season, and our winters are brutal, to say the least.

We now have nearly 3' of snow on the level (however most of it is piled up in deep drifts because of the incessant wind). Fargo radio's weatherman is predicting -25 to -30 tonight. Would Pampas grass survive something like this?

 

[beavis]

Pampas grass where I live with 330 days/yr of growing season is an extremely invasive species.

In my previous house, it was a haven for rodents to live in. And rattlesnakes.

It was a PITA to eradicate.

It has serrated edges that cut you up when handling it.

You had to take it out with pick, mattock , chainsaw and concentrated round-up and sometimes that wasn't effective.

I did read somewhere there may be a subspecies that isn't invasive, but personally I wouldn't ever take the chance.

 

[punkin]

Make sure you want it before you plant the stuff. Several years ago we planted 2 1 gal. pots. Now, we cant get rid of it.

Beavis is right, it will slice you open. One year I tried to thin it out while it was still green. I had welts for weeks on my upper arms, worse than any poison ivy.

Psht, I don't think cold and snow would harm it.

 

[jhm47]

Thanks! Guess I'll have to pass on the Pampas grass. Any suggestions for another type of screen/wildlife habitat?

 

[allabout]

I would never plant pampas grass on my property.

Well, I'm not sure of your USDA zone....but I would look at Wax Myrtle [Myrica cerifera] a cold hardy evergreen shrub for Zones 4- 10.

The Wax Myrtle (Bayberry) is an evergreen shrub which provides nesting and cover for wildlife in the winter when other foliage has thinned. Wax Myrtle flowers are unremarkable in color but numerous in quantity. The Fruit matures into berries during the summer and throughout winter. The medium green leaves are aromatic, tough, evergreen, and resistant to most insects and diseases.

The Wax Myrtle plant is easy to propagate as a shrub and is resistant to most insects and disease ravages, like most native American plants.

The shrub is useful for privacy hedges and screen blockers. The shrub grows to 15'-20' tall and wide but reachs that size very quickly, making them perfect for creating privacy screens in a short time. The rhizomes of the plant spread to form new, denser privacy hedges that continuously renew the landscape.

I am looking at purchasing some of these plants myself.

 

[mmtillman]

I would give anything to have some pampas grass....lived here for 20 years and have never been able to keep one longer then a season....
I see people with it everywhere but mine just wont survive in my yard. Anyone know of a type of Pampas grass that is hardy enough that it might survive for me?? I never know what kind I need to get...I love the pretty ones that have the foxtail looking frawns sp? Hope someone can lead me to the right one!! Thanks!

 

[mmtillman]

PS....I live in SW Mo.

 

[patandchickens]

Pampas grass is rather invasive in this part of Ontario, for whatever that's worth.

I wouldn't plant it either. It's not really much good as wildlife habit anyhow, too dense. And because you would want to cut it down in early spring at the latest, it will not be a year-round windbreak.

What kind of soil/exposure/drainage are we talking here? And are you looking for something grassy, or could it be a shrub or small tree?

Around here, good dense windbreak/hedgerow/wildlife type things include lilac, ninebark, amur maple, honeysuckle if you don't mind the fact that it is an exotic and is invasive in some regions, junipers, hawthorns, that sort of thing. Depending on the exact site. What do other people in your region use for what you're wanting to do?

Good luck,

Pat

 

[vfem]

My child rips grasses off the neighbor's plants... she gets paper cuts from it... not happy to have that around kids. :/

 

[Sylvie]

Pampas Grass (phragmites) is a complete pest here where we have long cold winters. It is illegal to plant it here.

If you were to plant it, anyone with a pond is going to hate you because it will infest, choke and take over a pond 100%. The seeds are windblown, carried by birds and animals. There's no really good eradication means other than complete poisoning of the pond with industrial strength herbicides like Rodeo because mechanical methods are simply ineffective. If your ground is at all moist Pampas will infest your lawn in no time by spreading through underground runners.
There are other grasses that may be more suitable due to their clump growing tendencies.
Here's a link:
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/...p=rm/sf=disc/se=0/op=>.html?ext_title=Grasses

Bayberries top my list of great plants, too. The wax on the berries can be easily boiled out for the most magnificent scented wax. We used it on our wood furniture. They are a beautifully structured plant when used as specimen planting.