The delicate wind borne seeds mature quickly but have a poor germination rate. They make up for this by producing lots of seed and, in case you haven't noticed, they do fare very well in disturbed areas like roadcuts, eroded gullies and excavations. The Caltrans maintenance folks from the north end of Big Sur spray pampas grass, french broom and other invaders regularly along Highway One making it hard for visitors to pull pampas fronds for souvenirs. No one at Caltrans has ever ever explained this inconsistency to my repeated inquiries. While pampas will never be eliminated from the steep coastal cliffs, if Caltrans removes it from Highway One, tourists can't pick it and contribute to seed spread elsewhere.
Large plants become difficult but small first year plants are easy to pull even in the dry season.
This article is the last in a series on invasive non-native plants that are spreading in Big Sur wildlands. The previous three Double Cone Quarterlies included articles on french broom, cape ivy and sticky eupatorium which, along with pampas grass, include the worst culprits. There are about 450 non-native plant species wild in Monterey County and most of them confine themselves to roadsides, agricultural lands and other developed disturbed areas. The ones that spread into wildlands without disturbance or after natural disturbance events like floods and fires often persist and alter the entire ecosystem. What I think may become the french broom of the next millennium is also known as Victorian box or Pittosporum undulatum .