i had a very large pampas grass, i burned it first, then with a pick axe and a sharp spade got the roots out a bit at a time. use strong gloves as the grass can give you a bad cut.

Yep! I'd agree with Eamonn... no easy way except to cut the top as much as poss, dig all around and sever the roots, - then it's a case of just hacking away... my neighbour and I had one on our border so we tackled it together, we couldn't burn it because it was too near the fence.... she was convinced it would root again, but it didn't

Dig it out after hacking back, as the others say. Burning won't kill it, pampas thrives on being burnt, rises anew like a phoenix from the ashes.

it might help to burn it so theres the stump left to tackle or cut it right downone or the other, however you will need to dig it out pretty soon after (with in a few weeks) burning does encourage growth but that takes a good few months so plenty of time to get digging. Up to you if you want to dig it out while in full growth.

from jane.

ps ive been there done that ware the hat :) its hard going, phew!!! all the best!

As Bamboo says, that used to be the way people controlled theirs. A good burning and back it came. 'Phoenix', there's another mythical beast for the unidentified iris Seaburngirl has! ('Purple Phoenix'!). I like this joined up site!

It is possible to dig one out - did it myself about 20 years ago, two of 'em, huge things they were, took me half a day for each one, and as Janeplant says, its hard graft... There were times when I wished I was a man, for all that extra muscle!

You have more tenacity than me Bamboo.. I gave up on a large pampas after 30 minutes of an axe bouncing off the roots!

Wet ground, that's the trick, Anchorman, impossible if its dry. I used a fork and spade...

I was doing a house renovation and there were two pampas grasses which the owner wanted removing, I discovered a frog living in one of them. Needless to say I left it, just couldn't destroy its home!