Pampas grass

Read on FB via Connexions !! Doom n gloom. Apparently its illeagle to sell or buy pampas !! Anyone know about this ? Is it just the pink one or all ? Didnt want to ask marie he may think uve lost the plot , funny English . !! Thanks

I heard that having pampas grass was an indication that the owner was into swinging!!

4 Likes

NZ is covered in pampas grass, make of that what you will.

2 Likes

What! The Connexion appears to be correct!

2 Likes

That’s been an urban myth for decades. Myth or not it contributed to its decline in popularity.

PS could the owner of the 1978 VW Passat please come and collect his keys from my fruit bowl.

8 Likes

Does anyone know how it stands for pampas grass that’s already been in place for years? I’ve never seen it growing wild, and didn’t realise it was so invasive. In a garden setting I haven’t experienced it reseeding itself. I did remove a huge one several years ago, and found it not to be that difficult, but you have to be careful not to cut your fingers on it.

Having read a bit more about it, I don’t want to risk a 3 year jail sentence or a 150,000 euro fine (a bit extreme!), so I’ll remove the little bit of pampas I have tomorrow I think.

Off to see if there’s any other plants/trees in my garden that might see me homeless or in jail! :open_mouth:

Sicilian Death Daffodils.

1 Like

Crikey, and I thought it was chrysanthemums that symbolised death here in France.

These also appear to be forbidden:

Acacia saligna / Mimosa bleuâtre
Ailanthus altissima / Ailante
Alternanthera philoxeroides / Herbe Ă  alligators
Andropogon virginicus / Barbon de Virginie
Asclepias syriaca / Asclépiade de Syrie
Baccharis halimifolia / Séneçon en arbre
Cabomba caroliniana / Cabomba
Cardiospermum grandiflorum / Vigne ballon
Celastrus orbiculatus / CĂ©lastre orbiculaire, Bourreau des arbres
Cenchrus setaceus / Herbe aux Ă©couvillons
Cortaderia jubata / Herbe de la pampa pourpre
Cortaderia selloana / Herbe de la pampa
Crassula helmsii / Crassule de Helms
Ehrharta calycina / Ehrharta calycina
Eichhornia crassipes / Jacinthe d’eau
Elodea nuttallii / Elodée de Nuttall
Gunnera tinctoria / Rhubarbe géante du Chili
Gymnocoronis spilanthoides / Faux hygrophile
Hakea sericea / Hakea soyeux
Heracleum mantegazzianum / Berce du Caucase
Heracleum persicum / Berce de Perse
Heracleum sosnowskyi / Berce de Sosnowsky
Humulus scandens / Houblon du Japon
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides / Hydrocotyle fausse-renoncule
Impatiens glandulifera / Balsamine de l’Himalaya
Koenigia polystachya / Renouée à nombreux épis, Renouée de l’Himalaya
Lagarosiphon major / Élodée à feuilles alternes
Lespedeza cuneata / Lespédéza de Chine
Ludwigia grandiflora / Ludwigie Ă  grandes fleurs
Ludwigia peploides / Jussie rampante
Lygodium japonicum / Lygodium (Fougère)
Lysichiton americanus / Faux-arum
Microstegium vimineum / Microstegium vimineum
Myriophyllum aquaticum / Myriophylle du Brésil
Myriophyllum heterophyllum / Myriophylle hétérophylle
Parthenium hysterophorus / Fausse camomille
Persicaria perfoliata / Renouée perfoliée
Pistia stratiotes / Laitue d’eau
Prosopis juliflora / Bayahonde
Pueraria montana / Kudzu
Salvinia molesta / Salvinia (Fougère aquatique)
Triadica sebifera / Arbre Ă  suif

Some varieties of hemp.

There’s a saying about broken clocks which seem apt.

2 Likes

Yes so I was told too!

Used to be chic to have some branches indoors as decoration. I then looked at a clump in my front garden in the UK years ago and saw these stems with the furry mass on the ends were absolutely covered in bugs and webs- no way was I having them as decoration indoors

Its now an upside down pineapple so I’m told.

Interesting thread… I might well casually mention Pampas at our Mairie, since I know there are various sorts planted in the communal areas around the village (though these might not be the “banned” variety)

and the list includes Acacia saligna / Mimosa bleuâtre which I must investigate as I’m particularly fond of Mimosa. A local gendarme always hands out large flowering bouquets of the stuff… smells fab, flowers last a long time and add a bright glow to the room… although my immediate neighbour reckons it makes her sneeze and won’t come inside my house while I have my bunch on display.

Stella, there’s an article about it here: Cette plante est interdite en France, voici ce que vous risquez

There’s still many nurseries selling plants/trees from the banned list, I guess they’ll stop before too long. It’s not like we’re receiving newsletters in our letterboxes threatening jail sentences and huge fines for already having these now banned plants, shrubs and trees.
I suspect action would only happen if you were reported, and then failed to remove it.

1 Like

Ours certainly hasn’t reseeded anywhere else in our garden, or in any of the neighbours’ gardens, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that either we have a sterile hybrid, or else the seeds can’t germinate in our climate (Auvergne)

1 Like

No, they represent deaths that have already occurred, the Sicilian variety signifies deaths to come…soon.

Been in the coastal basque region for a short vacation.
Pampas grass growing like a weed on road verges and wastelands.
Not sure it could selfseed in Charente but will remove ours (even though its the hedgehog shelter)

The symbology of flowers is totally lost on me. I bought my elderly neighbour some chrysanthemums as a present, and my wife (French) starts hollering - you can’t give that, you give it after somebody’s died!
I ended up handing it over, and kindly explained that it represented something else in the UK (prosperous life etc.). She was very happy with them anyway. :slight_smile: Not sure I’ve bought flowers since then!

1 Like