Cortaderia selloana ‘Silver Comet’

Silver Comet grass
Smaller, sterile form of pampas grass delivers showy plumes of flowers from a clump of fine, luminous variegated leaves. Tough, pretty, easy, and non-invasive.
height 4–6ft
width 4–6ft
tolerates Coast, Cool Summers, Fog, Pots, Neglect, Wind
water
needs		 Low
water
info		 Adapts effortlessly to the winter rains of California, being one of the easiest and most durable plants we can grow. Water this plant infrequently, when the top two inches or so of soil feel dry. Usually this will mean every week or two in dry weather. If you establish this pattern over several years, then you can cut back to watering every four to six weeks in dry weather. Closer to the coast pampas grass often thrives without additional irrigation once it has put down a healthy root system.

Use drippers, emitters, or a slow stream of water so that it doesn’t run off; allow the water to trickle all the way down through the deepest layers of soil. In a pot slowly water the entire surface until water comes out of the bottom of your pot.
hardy
to		 20F
exposure Part Sun – Full Sun
indoor
outdoor		 Outdoor
drainage In Ground: Cactus Mix, In Ground: Planting Mix, In Pots: Cactus Mix, In Pots: Potting Soil, Tolerates Sandy Soil
fertilizing Low Needs
california
native		 No
sunset
zones		 7–10, 12–H2

Sunset Zones Map

Outdoor Exposure Guide

OUTDOOR EXPOSURE GUIDE

Full Sun
Six or more hours of sun beams directly landing on the plant's leaves.

Part Shade
Three to five hours of sun beams directly landing on the plant's leaves.

Part Sun
One to two hours of sun beams directly landing on the plants leaves.

Full Shade
The plant is never fully lit by sun beams, but is in a bright spot or has dappled sunbeams playing over the leaves throughout the day.

Deep Shade
The plant never has dappled light on the leaves, and is in a place that feels dim, even on a nice sunny day.

SUNSET ZONES MAP

Growing Notes

Rest assured, this sterile form of pampas grass is tough and beautiful and won’t make any seedlings. Its glowing variegated foliage is a wonderful accent—on top of its fluffy flowerstalks.
Leaf edges are sharp. Place away from walkways and take care when grooming and weeding around this plant.

Special Interest

Pampas grass is the showier version of the invasive Chilean/Peruvian/Bolivian native jubata grass. Pampas grass comes from the Argentine side of the Andes and prefers summer rainfall but adapts to our winter rains.

This variegated cultivar of pampas grass is sterile and thus poses no danger of invading native habitat or cultivated areas because it cannot make seeds.

Jubata grass is the pernicious weed seen along California’s coastal highways, especially in central and northern California.