Hardy Pampas Grass

[piasalady]

We just planted some Hardy Pampas Grass (less then a week ago) and the plants have quite a bit of dead grass among the green. Should we cut down the dead grass? I am afraid we were too hasty in buying our plants and may have ended up with not so healthy ones. We have been watering them every day. They don't look any worse then when we purchased them but...I have never been very good with plants and I am just not sure what to do. We bought the plants at Lowes so I doubt there is anyone there who really knows alot about the plants they sell. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Jen

[lorax]

If you're watering every day, you're killing the grass with kindness! Pampas grasses (and I know whereof I speak; they're native here) grow in extremely depleted soils in semidesert areas, and require very little by way of water - they're considered xeric plants, much in the same way that cacti and agaves are.

You can absolutely trim out the dead blades, but wear thick leather gloves and eye protection to do so. Pampas grasses are very sharp, and handling them without proper protection is the death of a thousand million papercuts.

[Midwestguy]

Greener Thumb is correct. I have Pampas Grass in my yard, and it likes drier conditions. You should only water it once a week if even that. Pampas grass is also very, very tough. Do not cut out the brown stuff. The brown will probably not turn green again, but the plant as a whole will recover and should begin to sprout new leaves. After the plant goes dormant in the winter, you should cut the entire thing down to the ground. Next year it will grow up again taller and wider than before.
I hope this helps.