Re: Euphorbia and Cortaderia boo-boo?

Vavourakis wrote:

The last few years when cutting back my pampas grass I have suffered what looks
like "whip burns" on my skin from contact with the leaves.  I've read that the
leaves can "cut" the skin, but this definitely is not from cutting, but
acid-like burns...  This year I left the plant to go without its annual haircut
and it's become a monster-about 3 meters wide and almost that tall...  Has
anyone experienced this and can someone recommend a good way to prune cortaderia
to keep its shape?
Karen
I wonder if you are actually right about it not being cuts. This and similar large grasses like sugar cane are notorious for their sharp leaf edges strengthened with silica which cut as delicately as the finest razor. I don't think I would want to tackle a clump myself without some protection.

One of the following might help:-
Protective clothing (a thickish plastic parka for instance).
Long handled snips of some kind.
A powered hedge trimmer or even a string trimmer.

Incidently, for those who are generally concerned about the unwanted spread of exotics this species, though perfectly well behaved in our district and any cooler areas, is outlawed in all the warmer parts of NZ because it seeds so prolifically it had begun to take over not only many wild areas but, even more seriously, to spread into the farms and occupy pasture.

Moira

--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm

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