Ornamental · Poaceae
Pampas Grass
Cortaderia selloana
Little rivals a pampas grass clump crowned with full silvery plumes, but those silver feathers ride on razor-sharp leaves.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 7–10
6–12 ft · 1.8–3.7 m
Overview
Pampas grass is the tall grass topped with feathery plumes that anchors big borders and screens views. It comes from South America, carries the botanical name Cortaderia selloana, and belongs to the grass family. Once its roots take hold it asks for almost nothing, standing firm against drought, heat, salt spray, and wind.
The plumes are the sight that stops you. In late summer each clump lifts a soft fountain of silver-white feathers, plume heads packed with fine hairs that catch the light and hold their shape well into winter, all rising from long, arching blades that fan out over 12 feet across. Those same blades carry the catch: run a finger down one and you feel fine, razor-sharp serrations, a keen sawtooth edge that parts bare skin on contact.
A second trait shapes where it belongs. In mild-winter regions along the Pacific coast and in Hawaii, pampas grass self-seeds into a serious invasive, crowding out native plants and feeding wildfire. Where it stays put it is a bold, low-effort feature; where it does not, it is one to skip.
Care
The short version: give it full sun and well-drained ground, water it only while it establishes, and cut the whole clump down hard each late winter, with gloves and long sleeves on every time.
Light
Pampas grass wants full sun to plume well and hold its blades upright. It will tolerate partial sun or light shade, but in too little light the clump grows loose and floppy, its blades slack, and the famous feathers come in thin and sparse.
Water
Water a new plant regularly through its first season to root it in. After that it is highly drought, heat, salt, and wind tolerant and needs little to no extra water. Wet, poorly drained ground rots the crown, shortens its life, and invites winter damage.
Soil
This grass takes almost any well-drained soil, from heavy clay to loose loam to gritty sand to rocky ground, at anything from dry to medium moisture. It handles a wide pH band, roughly 5.5 to 8.5, so soil chemistry is rarely the limiting factor.
Temperature
It is hardy across a broad range, from about 10°F to 100°F (-12°C to 38°C), which covers zones 7 through 10. Cold below that line can kill the woody crown, while the heat at the top of the range does not trouble it at all.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor humidity suits it, so there is no figure to manage. Air movement matters more than moisture in the air, and an open, breezy site is exactly what this wind-tolerant grass prefers.
Feeding
Feed lightly with a balanced general-purpose fertilizer in spring during the growing season. An established clump needs very little, and heavy feeding only pushes soft, weak blades.
Pruning
Cut the whole clump back hard to about 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 cm) in late winter, before new growth starts, using hedge shears, loppers, or power pruners. Always work in gloves, a long-sleeve shirt, and eye protection, because the serrated blade edges cut skin with ease.
Repotting
Repotting barely figures in this plant's life; the clump anchors itself in one spot and stays for years. The cues for lifting or dividing are all visible ones: growth spilling past its boundaries, a center gone brown, thatchy, and lifeless, or a swollen, crowded crown heaving itself above the soil line.
Size & spacing
A mature clump stands roughly 6 to 12 feet (1.8 to 3.7 m) tall on its arching blades and spreads about 4 to 7 feet (120 to 205 cm) wide at the base. Give it plenty of open room, well clear of paths and play areas, so no one brushes the sharp leaves in passing.
When to plant
A perennial of warm regions, pampas grass grows in zones 7 to 10. Spring planting lets the roots knit down through a full growing season; by late summer the silver plumes push skyward and stand through fall, their feathery heads holding form deep into the cold. Late winter, just before fresh blades break, is the moment to shear the entire clump down to ground level.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring
- Harvest: late summer to fall, plumes persist into winter
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–10
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Pampas grass rarely fails to a pest or a disease. The two problems that actually matter are the thin cuts its blade edges leave and the way it seeds itself beyond bounds. Both are easy to spot and easy to head off.
Small tufted seedlings rising well beyond the parent clump
These stray tufts are the sign of invasive self-seeding, the plant's most serious flaw. A single feathery plume holds well over 100,000 tiny wind-borne seeds a year, and even a torn piece of pale root or rhizome takes hold in moist ground, so young grassy clumps surface downwind on disturbed, coastal, or open land. Dig the small crowns out entire while their roots are still shallow, and cut and bag the plumes before their seed ripens rather than composting them or shifting seed-laden soil.
Fix:
- Remove volunteer seedlings while young by digging out the entire crown
- Cut and bag flowering plumes before seeds mature and disperse
- Do not compost plumes or move soil containing seed
Thin, stinging cuts across the hands or arms after touching the foliage
No pest or disease leaves these marks; the leaf blades do. Run a hand along one and you meet razor-sharp, finely serrated edges, a rank of tiny teeth that catch and part the skin the instant you grip a handful, opening slices that are thin, clean-lipped, and deeper than their width lets on. Sheathe your skin in thick gloves, a long-sleeve shirt, long pants, and eye protection, and part the clump with shears or loppers so no blade ever slides through a bare grip.
Fix:
- Stop handling bare-skinned and wash and dress any cuts
- Always wear thick gloves, a long-sleeve shirt, long pants, and eye protection
- Cut the clump back with hedge shears, loppers, or power pruners rather than pulling foliage by hand
Toxicity
Good news on poison, a warning on the blades. No part of pampas grass is toxic, and the ASPCA rates it safe for cats, dogs, and horses. The real hazard is physical, since the leaf edges are razor-sharp and slice skin like paper, so handle it in gloves and keep pets and children from running through the clump.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Nothing in the green blades will poison a cat that stops for a nibble. The catch is the thin serrated edge, keen enough to nick a soft mouth, so a curious cat is best steered off chewing it.
Dogs None
A dog meets no poison in this grass at all. The long saw-toothed blades can score a thin red line across a nose or paw, though, when a dog pushes headlong through the clump.
Horses None
A horse takes no toxic harm from pampas grass. A grazing muzzle can still be scraped along the lips or tongue by the hard, sharp-edged blades, so a clump kept behind fencing is the safer setup.
Rabbits Safe
A rabbit finds no toxin in the tissue to trouble it. The stiff, cutting blades are far too coarse and wiry to chew, so they rarely tempt a nibbler in the first place.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep graze near this grass without any poisoning. Most turn away from it, put off by the harsh, blade-edged foliage too tough and cutting to be worth a mouthful.
Birds Safe
Birds take no chemical harm and often nest down among the dense, feathery plumes. The edges stay sharp, but a light-bodied bird seldom drags across them.
People Safe
No part of the plant will poison a person handling it or standing close. The real danger is mechanical, since the razor-sharp leaf edges cut skin like paper, so gloves and long sleeves belong on hand for any close work.
Not poisonous, but the sharp-edged leaves can inflict deep cuts on skin. Wear gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection when planting, handling, or pruning, and keep pets and children from running through or chewing the foliage to avoid mouth and skin cuts.
Varieties
Named selections shift the plant's physical character in ways easy to spot: a shorter, denser habit, plumes flushed rose instead of gleaming silvery-white, or long blades striped in white or gold. The forms most often offered for sale appear below.
Pumila
A compact dwarf standing only about 4 to 6 feet, tougher in cold, and the most widely planted of the group.
Rosea
Washes its plumes with a soft rose-pink instead of the usual clean silvery-white.
Sunningdale Silver
A tall, vigorous form carrying broad, dense, silvery-white plumes.
Silver Comet
A variegated form whose blades are lined with crisp stripes of white and green.
Gold Band
A variegated form whose leaves are banded in gold, striped through with yellow and green.
How to propagate
There are two ways to multiply pampas grass, but only one keeps the showy plumes true. Whichever you pick, the sharp-edged blades mean gloves and long sleeves are not optional.
DivisionModerate
Late winter to early spring · 1-2 growing seasons
Division is the preferred way to multiply pampas grass, carried out in late winter to early spring, and the only method that keeps the showy female plants true to type. A split piece needs one to two growing seasons to root down and swell back into a full clump. The crown underneath is a dense, woody mass and the blades stay razor-edged, so gloves and heavy sleeves go on before any cut is made.
SeedEasy
Spring · 1 growing season to first flowering in favorable climates
The plant scatters its own seed freely, and in a mild climate a spring sowing can throw up its first plume within a single growing season. The trouble is that seedlings vary widely, and many turn out plain, thin-plumed male plants. Leave seed alone entirely wherever pampas grass is invasive, since raising it only feeds the spread.
Myths
Any towering grass crowned with feathery plumes is the very same pampas grass plant.
The tall, silvery ornamental most gardeners plant is Cortaderia selloana, a different species from jubata grass, or purple pampas grass, which is Cortaderia jubata. Jubata grass is the far more aggressive invader, setting seed without any pollination and overrunning coastal and redwood-forest land. Up close the two are nearly a match, right down to the same sharp serrated leaves, yet jubata grass keeps to cool, foggy coasts while selloana also endures hot, dry inland heat.
Pampas grass is poisonous to pets.
The ASPCA lists Cortaderia selloana as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, and no part of it holds any poison. The one real danger is a mechanical cut from the razor-sharp leaf edges, not anything a pet could be poisoned by.