I have a largeish (c.1.5m wide at base, 3m high) Pampas grass in my lawn
that I would like to remove. I've been told to burn it and then dig out the
root to get rid of the thing completely - and also that digging out the root
is a real pain as it's huge. Unfortunately, I can't burn it as it's too
close to my apple trees, hedge, smoke tree etc....

So - can I just chop the bugger down and then dig the root out ? Is there
any other way to kill the thing ? If so, when is the best time of year to do
this, or doesn't it matter ?