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Post by Drahkk on Jun 23, 2012 17:59:24 GMT -5
I had an experience with Pampas Grass that put me off that plant for life,a few years ago i was driving past a house that had a clump right next to a house that was on fire,i stopped to help the guy before the fire brigade arrived, and was amazed just how inflammable the plant is,so not one to grow if you live in a area thats known for grass/forest fires.Also rats love to nest in them. Yes, they burn like kindling in an oxygen tent. My in laws used to burn the one in their yard yearly just to clean it up, but you have to wet the ground around it and stand by with the water hose before striking a match. The only thing I've seen go up faster was the time I raked up pine straw and piled it on top of dead branches (plenty of air underneath; wasn't thinking about that...) before lighting the pile. Was very glad there were no trees close by that day... MB |
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Post by circumspice on Jun 30, 2012 13:04:56 GMT -5
I had an experience with Pampas Grass that put me off that plant for life,a few years ago i was driving past a house that had a clump right next to a house that was on fire,i stopped to help the guy before the fire brigade arrived, and was amazed just how inflammable the plant is,so not one to grow if you live in a area thats known for grass/forest fires.Also rats love to nest in them. Yes, they burn like kindling in an oxygen tent. My in laws used to burn the one in their yard yearly just to clean it up, but you have to wet the ground around it and stand by with the water hose before striking a match. The only thing I've seen go up faster was the time I raked up pine straw and piled it on top of dead branches (plenty of air underneath; wasn't thinking about that...) before lighting the pile. Was very glad there were no trees close by that day... MB  I'm sorry... The mental image I have made me double over laughing... ;D |
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Post by Drahkk on Jun 30, 2012 14:03:35 GMT -5
Yep, got a lesson in pyrodynamics that I'll never forget that day. Ever lit what you thought was a simple backyard brush pile, only to end up standing 20 feet back because of the heat, while the wind started circling around 20 foot tall flames? I know it sounds like a classic redneck moment now, but at the time I thought I'd doomed the whole neighborhood. I was younger and dumber then...
MB
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Post by Deleted on Nov 8, 2012 0:13:43 GMT -5
This gives me the idea to use it for tinder, now that it's fireplace season.
"Pink Lemonade" turned out to have a white seedhead, and that was only once. This clumping dwarf is fairly harmless in the background, has never traveled, perhaps for the lack of seed.
Soaked fibers have possible use as paper or cordage. I kept picking harmless green tape out of the mulch, am thinking the natural stuff has more character in the garden and is always on hand.
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Post by circumspice on Nov 8, 2012 1:34:41 GMT -5
Pampas grass used to be planted along the major freeways in Houston, Texas back in the 70s & 80s. I think they were all the white variety. I don't remember it ever spreading or even increasing in the locations where it was planted. When I had my first apartment, I would go out in the middle of the night & cut a bunch of it, take it home & stick it in a large vase in the corner. It looked really nice. I'd replace it when it started shedding. I decorated with Pampas grass in that manner for several years.
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