Cortaderia selloana ‘Pumila’ (Dwarf Pampas Grass)

Good old Pampas Grass all the way from the lowlands of Uruguay, northern Argentina and southern Brazil. It forms familiar clumps of bluish leaves topped by fluffy plumes of cream coloured flowers. This form - 'Pumila' has the distinction of being a bit smaller than the normal one but also has the attractive habit of producing shorter flower plumes that all grow to the same height. The result is just that little bit neater and tidier. I'm not sure 'Dwarf' is quite the right term...

Much time has been spent discussing what to do with this thing in the winter. Leave it? Burn it? Cut it down? Answer : cut it down into a very low dome (looks good) in December either with sharp shears or (as we do) with a hedge trimmer. This means all the subsequent year's growth will be new. Out with the old and in with the new. It's how we treat most herbaceous plants and grasses - even if they're evergreen.

As with anything, overuse of this plant lead to declining popularity to the point of being pretty unfashionable by the 1980s. Now, no one seems to care whether it's fashionable or not but they certainly appreciate its potential for some dramatic planting on a grand scale. A dramatic avenue on a budget, for example.

They need light and space and reasonably well drained soil.

Propagated by us by division