- Botanical name: Cortaderia selloana
- Common name: Pampas grass
- Family: Poaceae
- Plant Type: Perennial, Evergreen
White
Silver
- Key features:
- Attractive seedheads
Pampas grass, Cortaderia selloana, is a large ornamental grass, forming large, compact tufts of rough-edged leaves from which dense silvery flower panicles emerge on strong stems in summer. It’s traditionally grown as a specimen in the middle of a lawn, but also looks good grown in a shrub border among herbaceous perennials. In a large garden it looks outstanding planted in informal drifts among trees, and it makes a good intruder-proof boundary due to its sharp edged evergreen leaves.Its flowers are excellent for drying.
For best results grow Cortaderia selloana in well-drained soil in full sun. Plants are best tidied annually to keep them free from debris which otherwise builds up and chokes out new growth. The plumes can be cut and dried for flower arranging, but are superb left in the garden where they look lovely rimmed with frost in the winter.
How to grow Cortaderia selloana
-
Plant size
2.4m height
1.5m spread
-
Aspect
South facing, west facing
- Sun exposure: Full sun
- Hardiness: Hardy
- Soil type: Well drained / light / sandy / chalky / alkaline / acidic
Plant calendar
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant | ||||||||||||
| Plant |
J
Do not Plant in January |
F
Do not Plant in February |
M
Do not Plant in March |
A
Do not Plant in April |
M
Do Plant in May |
J
Do Plant in June |
J
Do Plant in July |
A
Do Plant in August |
S
Do Plant in September |
O
Do not Plant in October |
N
Do not Plant in November |
D
Do not Plant in December |
| Divide | ||||||||||||
| Divide |
J
Do not Divide in January |
F
Do not Divide in February |
M
Do Divide in March |
A
Do Divide in April |
M
Do not Divide in May |
J
Do not Divide in June |
J
Do not Divide in July |
A
Do not Divide in August |
S
Do not Divide in September |
O
Do not Divide in October |
N
Do not Divide in November |
D
Do not Divide in December |
Cortaderia selloana and wildlife
Cortaderia selloana has no particular known value to wildlife in the UK.
Is Cortaderia selloana poisonous?
Cortaderia selloana has no toxic effects reported.
No reported toxicity to Birds
No reported toxicity to Cats
No reported toxicity to Dogs
No reported toxicity to Horses
No reported toxicity to Livestock
No reported toxicity to People
