Getting rid of Pampas Grass

I have the best neighbor!  He recently took out about a dozen mature Pampas
Grass specimums (Cortaderia selloana and/or Cortaderia jubata) with a
backhoe and asked me to give him alternatives to Roundup to keep them from
coming back.  That's what he'd normally use but he knows it makes me ill.

Doing a quick internet search I see that large plants must be removed
mechanically (as he did) and for prevention you have two choices: Roundup
or mechanical removal when they are young.  Appearently the plant produces
tons of seeds that can germinate in just about any conditions.  And if you
pull up a plant and the roots touch the soil, it can regrow.

If you're not familar with Pampas Grass, it's an ornamental grass that is
one of the most noxious and environmentally disruptive weeds in
California and other warm-winter areas.  http://www.nps.gov/redw/pampas.htm

Before I go back to him saying the solution is tedious mechanical removal
on a regular basis, I'd like to hear from others who have dealt with the
problem successfully.  Of course the Roundup would have to be applied
regularly too so the workload with early pulling isn't too much more, but
it would be nice to present him with a variety of options.  It would be
much too much work for me to offer to do this for him in case anyone is
thinking of suggesting it (it's a big area--maybe 500-1000 sf but with a
larger area where the plants can regrow).

I am only interested in solutions consistant with organic agriculture.

Thanks,
Cyndi

_______________________________________________________________________________
Petaluma, California           Zone 9 USDA; Zone 15 Sunset Western Garden Guide
Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and neccessity
_______________________________________________________________________________
"There's nothing wrong with me.  Maybe there's                     Cyndi Norman
something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG)                   cyndi@tikvah.com
                                                         http://www.tikvah.com/
_________________ Owner of the Immune Website & Lists http://www.immuneweb.org/
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index