You'll need a pair of shears and a pair of loppers, stout gloves and a jacket and preferably either a pair of spectacles or safety glasses. Cut off everything you can - use the shears to cut back all the leafy growth to a central stump. When you've done that, cut out any flowered stems at their base, in the top of the stump. Now take a rake or something similar and rake out the centre of the stump. Then clear up... by midsummer, you won't believe you ever did it...

Cut out any flower stalks with secateurs with good gloves on, pull out dead leaves from the bottom with a wire rake. All the leaves are sharp and will cut through plastic bags and skin.

Thank you for your replies. I will let you know how I go on.

Good luck with it - if you live in the sticks away from civilisation, and you have a flamethrower, you can burn it all off with that instead. Pampas responds really well to complete removal of its foliage in this way, but a good substitute is cutting it all off.

only if its safe to burn ie close fences,houses etc or washing but it goes up realy quickly and as said is the best way if you can do that .

New question: I have a grafted tree which has not blossommed this year. My husband cut it back. Do you think it will come back ? It is pink and white when in full bloom.

What variety of tree is it, Indywool?