Cortaderia selloana Seeds | Pampas Grass
LATIN NAME: Cortaderia selloana
COMMON NAME: Pampas Grass
Plant Profile
Among the ornamental and useful plants raised from seed, Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana) stands out as a grass. Pampas grass is a fine, bold, silver-plumed grass of warm plains and coasts, and its great, tall, feathery, silver-white plumes have made it one of the most planted of the ornamental grasses for a very long time. Grass is a fine, easy, long-lived plant of sunny, well-drained ground, though it spreads freely in mild regions and is best kept to its own corner. Its open flowers are a reliable stop for bees and other pollinating visitors. Plants that offer this much while asking this little are rare enough to treasure.
Science & Biotechnology
Like other members of the Cortaderia group, Cortaderia selloana draws steady attention from botanists and plant breeders, who value the genus both as a subject of research and as a source of garden-worthy material. Pampas grass has a steady and growing place in plant science, and grass has been studied for its great, feathery plumes and its place among the most planted of the ornamental grasses. Species like this one find a second career as research material, especially in propagation and breeding work.
Uses & Benefits
Pampas Grass brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Pampas grass is grown for great, tall, feathery, silver-white plumes. Great clumps hold sandy ground well, and plumes have long been gathered and dried for house and craft work. Grass spreads freely in mild, open regions, so it is best kept to its own corner in the garden. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
Pampas grass is a dramatic ornamental and dried-flower staple with no medicinal record.
Growing from Seed
Sow fresh seed of Pampas Grass under ordinary good conditions. Level a tray of loose seed compost, sow evenly, cover to about the seed’s own depth, and keep it moist in full light. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Pampas Grass repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
Related Reading
Gardeners who grow Pampas Grass often pair it with these related subjects: