Cortaderia Selloana - Cultivation and Uses

Cultivation and Uses

The plant was introduced to Europe, North America and Australia as an ornamental grass, and, to a lesser extent, to provide food for grazing animals. The feathery flower head plumes, when dried, are widely used in flower arrangements and other ornamental displays.

There are several cultivars available, including:

• 'Albolineata' — a small cultivar which grows to only 2 m (6.6 ft) in height. The leaves are variegated, with yellow edges.
• 'Aureolineata'agm
• 'Pumila'agm
• 'Sunningdale Silver'agm — grows to a height of 4 m (13.1 ft) and has particularly dense flowering plumes.

Those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Pampas grass is highly adaptable and can grow in a wide range of environments and climates. It also seeds prolifically, with each plant able to produce over one million seeds during its lifetime. As such, in some areas (for example California, Hawaii or Green Spain) it is regarded as an invasive weed, whilst in New Zealand and South Africa the plant is banned from sale and propagation for the same reasons. Burning pampas grass does not always kill it at the roots, but chemical weedkiller does.