This is going to sound rather extreme..........but pampas grass (large "wild" one) and a hedge trimmer............(farly urgent)

[FAQinglovely]

what will happen to the pampas grass in my front garden if I cut it all back with a hedge trimmer?

It's REALLY wild - loads and LOADS of dead leaves mixed up among new growth and including the outer leaves drooping everywhere is easily covers 2 sqaure meters.........

What will happen if I chop it all down with a hedge timmer??????

oh god this is going to take me all afternoon I can just see it.......

photo on my profile of a foot or so taken off one side and what the whole of the "inside of the grass looks like..........

actually that doesn't show it very well have a look here

My allotment neighbour grows pampas grass on his allotment (should I be worried?). He chopped all his huge clumps down to about 1-2 ft off the ground about 3 weeks ago - it looked very difficult, but it's much tidier & is beginning to grow back already.

What you need to do is get a garden fork or rake and sort of pull out all the dead woody stuff near the core - loads will come out. That way it will look a hell of a lot better next year when the new growth appears.

You will, however, be on every local swinger's watch list

right I now have a garden fork (borrowed off DH) and some (hopefully) stronger garden sacks, and a few other "garden essentials"

I'm just having some lunch (yes I know it's nearly dinner time ) and then I'm going to go out there, and I'm not coming back in until the pampas is defeated

Ha! Oh FAQ, what a lovely picture you paint.

Me and dh have been wrestling with 6 ft fence panels all afternoon. We went to Wickes and carried them home on a borrowed trolley.

I felt like The Monkeys at the start of their show, wheeling that double bed through the streets.

Do not be beaten by nature! Show it who's boss.

oh don't worry I will - I'm going to remove the whole bloody thing - if the landlady desperately wants a pampas back in that spot then I will willing go out and get another.

Although - do reckon from that first photo that the pampas is more or less than 5yrs old?????? As if people reckon it's older than 5yrs then the owner didn't plant it anyhow

ok I'm off..............I could be some time - if I'm not seen by night fall please send out the search and rescue team as I could buried under a pile of monstrous pampas grass debris

ok - so I need a break.

And OMG - someone has tried to burn it back previously - but left it, and all of the central "new" growth is growing out of the top of a mass of knotted, charred, blackened mess of previously burned stumps.

FARKKKKKKK - I don't know if I can do all of this on my own

haha - I'm winning (sort of) latest photo on my profile (I could probably have burnt more down but I'm a wuss when it comes to fire so started dampening it down after it had barely got going )

blooming pampas grass - they are a nightmare! We moved to get away from one as well I used to do the fork/rake thing and it did help but it just generates so much mess!

Please let me encourage you in your battle though - I've been weeding all afternoon and my back and arms hurt!

oh NL I feel for your there - I was brandishing an electric hedge trimmer this morning sorting the hedge out, then took it onto the pampas, and then attacked pampas with other equipment.

I then "took a break" to go into town to buy a strimmer (for the back lawn) and a hosepipe (to make sure I didn't burn the street down when Iset fire to it) and a few other bits in Morrisons, then carried said items to DH's house to pick up the fork - but then cheated and got a taxi back.

I'm going to feel SORE in the morning I'm sure..........and I stink of smoke too LOL

I have a spade and a (very small) saw (one of those on them multi-tool garden whatsits) on it this morning. Filled 2 garden sacks in 2 hours...............it's gonna be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG day (and my shoulder hurts)

soo Have pampas grass in the back garden and was debating about removing it but wasn't sure. it's not that big but am now terrified it will grow to monster proportions. What do you reckon should it stay or go FAQ?