What is Pampas Grass?

Written by Brooke Tolman (last updated March 8, 2024)

Pampas grass is a large, perennial ornamental grass that is grown in many lawns as fillers. There are many reasons to love pampas grass; here are just a few of them.

  • It grows fairly fast. If you're looking for something that can quickly fill up a bare spot, then this is the grass to go with. It's an ideal choice for filling in large, barren landscape.
  • It grows nice and thick. Its thickness helps to create an effective barrier, whether you need it to block out sound, an ugly view, or even the wind.
  • It's pretty. The long, graceful blades of grass with flowers on the end of them which are delightful to look at. It's very visually pleasing to look at, and helps create a tropical feel wherever you put it.
  • It's tough. Pampas grass is pest resilient, drought resilient, and grows in almost any soil. It will grow on hot slopes where almost nothing else will grow; in fact, it's the perfect solution for a dry, thinning lawn.
  • It's cheap. At most home improvement stores you can get a big pot of pampas grass for only $10! That's a deal. For a plant that grows so big, you won't find much of anything for a cheaper price.
  • It's low maintenance. As mentioned before, Pampas grass is drought resilient. This means you don't have to water it very often. When winter time comes around you can shear it, and it'll grow back just as beautiful the next spring. You don't even have to shear it every year; the worst that will happen is it will just look a little messier than normal.

While pampas grass is a great solution to many of your lawn care problems, be aware that it can grow out of control. If you let the grass grow too tall it can start to take over your lawn and a whole lawn of pampas grass it not very pretty. Pampas leaves are also notoriously sharp, and can unintentionally cut you if you aren't careful. Anytime you plant large, dense bushes in your lawn, you're building a home for many species of wildlife. Planting pampas grass will attract reptiles, bugs, and small mammals that are all looking for a place to hide. If you don't want those in your lawn, then you should avoid planting pampas grass.

Author Bio

Brooke Tolman

Brooke is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Exercise Science. She currently resides in Seattle where she works as a freelance data analyst and personal trainer. She hopes to spend her life camping and traveling the world. ...

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