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

Hardiness level Green

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IF IT HAS A GREEN TRAFFIC LIGHT

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Hardy anywhere in Britain below approximately 1000ft (300m)

This is only meant as a guide. Please remember we're always on hand to give advice about plants and their frost hardiness.

Please remember that these coloured labels are only a rough guide.

General Point about Plant Hardiness: The commonly held belief that it's better to 'plant small' is perfectly true with herbaceous plants, but not necessarily true with woody plants. They need some 'wood' on them to survive severe cold - so plants of marginal hardiness in very cold areas should really be planted LARGER, rather than smaller, wherever possible.