Pampas grass graces home landscapes with beautiful plumage requiring minimal care. Pampas grass features thick blade-like fronds with long stem off-white feathery flowers. Pampas has the potential to grow into a huge plant 8 to 12 feet in height. Gardeners should perform pruning in the late spring as near growth appears around the base of the grass. A host of tools will make this task easier depending on the size of the pampas grass plant.

Twine

Twine serves as an essential tool when trimming ornamental grasses. The hardest part of pruning grass lies in establishing a straight cut close to the ground. Running a few lengths of twine around the grass groups the plant into a solid bunch. Pruning cuts will be even throughout the width of the plant. Tying the fronds with twine also allow the gardener to direct cutting to carefully avoid new growth.

Pruning Shears

Hand-held pruning shears usually can't tackle the thickness of an established pampas grass plant. These sharp clippers work perfectly to trim errant grass blades and smaller plants. Use pruning shears to cut groups of blades smaller than 3/4 inch.

Lopping Shears

Lopping shears feature a long handle for leverage and long flat cutting blades. Lopping shears work well to prune hedges and smaller tree branches up to 1 3/4 inch in width. Lopping shears can easily give a mass of pampas grass a spring haircut as long as selected sections aren't too thick.

Pruning Saw

Branches larger than 1 3/4 inches in diameter require a strong tool. Pruning saws feature a toothed, pointed blade for cutting in close areas. Saw blades feature teeth placed closer than those found on woodworking saws. Pruning saws come in a variety of sizes, with teeth spaced differently depending on the user needs. Higher numbers of teeth indicate a sharper cut and a basic pruning saw contains 6 teeth (points per inch). This tool makes short work of pruning pampas grass, allowing the user to saw easily through the thick frond foliage.

Chain Saw

Electric or gas-powered chain saws make quick work of the largest growths of pampas grass. These tools have sharp, chain driven blades that cut quickly and cleanly through the thick foliage of an established grass planting. This method isn't recommended for pruning since blades must be extremely sharp for the cuts to be straight. Chain saws don't provide controlled pruning but will take care of the task quickly.