People who have their allotment of land and use it not only for a utilitarian purpose should be very interested in pampas grass - the photo clearly demonstrates how decorative this plant is. Scientifically, it is called cordateria. At home - in South America and the Pacific Islands - pampas grass has more than twenty varieties. But in our latitudes and longitudes only one species is grown - Cortaderia selloana.
Description of Cordateria
Pampas grass - a cereal plant, and perennial, which is attractive to gardeners - you do not have to renew plantings annually. It grows to three and a half meters, has long leaves curved by elegant arcs. Most foliage is painted in dull greens, but pampas grass with leaves that have cream or white stripes is found. But especially cordameria is valued for its autumn bloom, when fluffy panicles appear, sometimes reaching a meter in length. By winter, they do not fly around, and throughout the dull winter they decorate the garden.
The use of cortaderia in phytodesign
When planning flower beds on a site, it is worth considering the growth and splendor of the plant. Usually it plays an architectural role: it creates a pronounced vertical line. Most often, pampas grass is planted in the background of mixborders or tapeworm - in fairly extensive open areas. If there is a pond on the site - natural or artificial - looks great in the design of the coastline. Cordateria feels quite comfortable near walls or fences, which is often used to increase their decorativeness. In small areas, its natural growth is not too appropriate; in addition, a three-meter pampas grass will suppress other plants. In such cases, regular trimming and shaping is performed.
Verbena, echinacea, cosmea, yarrow, rudbeckia — in general, high grains — are suitable companions for cordateria.
Conditions for survival
What makes pampas grass good is its unpretentiousness. It can be planted in places chosen by you, and not taking into account the vagaries of the plant. Cordateria is very tenacious, it does not care about the acidity and fertility of the soil, its excessive dryness or, on the contrary, the swampiness of the site. Pampas grass will survive even in rocky terrain - just not solid granite so that the roots can grow stronger and penetrate deeper into the soil. It is advisable that the chosen place be as sunny as possible - in this case, you are guaranteed a particularly magnificent flowering. However, under scattered light and in partial shade, pampas grass will bloom, just the brushes are formed not so long and in less quantity.
Pampas grass care
The unpretentiousness of cordateria affects the features of care. It does not even need regular watering and can survive prolonged drought. However, decorativeness in severe conditions is somewhat lost: the foliage becomes less bright, and in the absence of water at the right time, pampas grass can “refuse” to bloom. Therefore, closer to August, a couple of times a week, it is better to water the cordaria, but recently planted, not yet adapted and not fixed plants - to feed.
On the other hand, pampas grass is not susceptible to disease and does not suffer from pests, so you are definitely insured from the role of its doctor. By and large, all care is reduced to the formation of a bush, if you do not intend to let cordaria grow arbitrarily, and to cut off panicles before the start of the new season.
Security measures
No matter how spectacular the pampas grass was (photo), it is in a sense unsafe. She got her scientific name from the Spanish cortar, which translates as "cut." The edge of the leaves is hard and sharp, cutting about it is extremely simple. Therefore, cordaria should be planted away from the tracks, and especially from playgrounds. When forming or cutting brushes gloves are required and protective glasses are desirable.
Cordateria can “threaten” not only people, but also plants. What is the danger of pampas grass for them - its reproduction can become uncontrollable. In the native land, it is considered almost a weed; in order to get rid of the adversity the steppes are often burned out. In order not to encounter such misfortune in its area, the place allotted for cordateria is protected by deep-dug sheets of slate or metal. Alternatively, you can cut off the growing roots in the spring, although this method is less effective - you won’t follow all the processes.
A little bit about seeds
If your site still lacked pampas grass, reproduction by seeds is possible and does not present much difficulty: their germination is almost one hundred percent. The problem is that the planted seeds will sprout in the same year, but flowering will have to wait as long as five years. On the other hand, if you already have pampas grass, seeds can come in handy for refreshing and renewing plantings - existing specimens will decorate the site until new ones grow.
In this regard, new plantations of cordateria are usually formed by purchased seedlings, and the existing one is expanding due to the division of the bush.
Planting pampas grass
First of all, decide what kind of pampas grass you like. Propagation by seeds, used in nurseries, gives customers the opportunity to choose seedlings that will give the brush the preferred color - pink, silver or golden. If you already have flower beds, this can be important. The purchased "bush" should be planted almost immediately; pampas grass will successfully take root already at the end of March. A pit for planting should be dug somewhat wider than the root system of the plant. It is advisable to pour compost to the bottom - so cordameria will be mastered faster. It is impossible to deepen the plant too much - the underground part may begin to rot.