Planting Pampas-grass.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 58, Issue 3, 20 March 1939, Page 197

Planting Pampas-grass.

A CORRESPONDENT, P. S. P. (Waipawa) asks —(i) Is there more than one strain of pampasgrass, and, if so, which strain is the most palatable for stock ? (2) Where can I obtain pampas-grass seed, and when should this be planted ? (3) Would pampas-grass grow well in swampy ground where the water-level is only about 1 ft. to 2 ft. below the ground-level ? (4) If pampas-grass were planted along the side of a drain, would the roots tend to block the drain as do willows ?

The Fields Division replies that departmental trials in which pampas-plants from a number of sources have been grown and fed off in comparison with plants claimed to be selected for palatability. have not substantiated the claims. It is possible, of course, that, as with, other fodder plants, selections could be made of more succulent and palatable types. Age and rate of growth appear to be the most important factors when stock make a selection in planta-

tions, the younger and more vigorous plants generally being eaten first.

Pampas-grass seed is not available commercially in New Zealand. Investigations have so far shown that only in North Auckland does the plant produce viable seed, and it is even here a shy seeder.

Seed should be sown under glass in September or October, the seedlings being pricked out into boxes or the open ground under shade when big enough to handle. A fine, firm seed-bed is required, and the seed should be covered with a sprinkling of sand only. When pricked out, the seedlings should be kept watered. Such seedlings transferred in the autumn to rows in the garden should be ready to transplant into permanent positions in the spring after danger of frost is past. Pampas-grass has seeded freely on the Whangarei Harbour Board reclamation areas, and seedling plants are obtained from this source. The plant is also propagated by rooted cuttings from oldestablished plants. These cuttings strike best when the plant has been cut back in the autumn to the butt and allowed to sprout again. Pampas-grass thrives best on a rich, fertile, free-draining soil. It will not grow well where the ground lies waterlogged during the greater portion of the winter. It does well on drained swamp land, but not where the swamp is undrained. Pampas-grass makes an excellent breakwind when planted alongside a drain. The roots do not interfere with the drain in any way, but rather to hold them. The leaves' drooping over the drain save a considerable amount of cleaning. Pampas-grass, to establish and thrive must be adequately fenced from stock. When fed off in a plantation it must be protected from stock for the rest of the year or until full growth has been made again.

Additional examples of the success of surface-sown pasture in North Taranaki indicate that this method of renewing run-out or badly poached pastures is becoming a generally-accepted means, especially when root-crop growing is proving so uneconomical. Where sheep are run in conjunction with dairy cows they are proving of value in tramping in the surface-sown seed and also for the light first grazing after-establishment.