What makes cattails grow

First, wait until late in the season when the brown seed heads that look like hot dogs have started to dry out. Using garden shears, cut the entire head from several cattails. To complete the drying process, store the seed heads in a paper bag. Close it tightly with the seed heads inside and leave it in a warm place for a couple of weeks. Try to touch or move it as little as possible.

When enough time has elapsed, take the seed heads out of the bag and get rid of as much of the white cottony seed matter as you can by picking it off with your hands. Then, soak the seeds in water for approximately 24 hours. Waterfowl and some songbirds also like to nest in the tall cattail stalks. Ours are always full of Red-Winged Blackbirds. Our ducks spend hot days in the cattails, diving for those fish that are trying to hide under them.

Whether you introduce it to your pond or inherit it on your property, the cattail plant will require maintenance and control. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources considers the cattail a well-established invasive species. It can easily take over your pond and prevent other species from growing, but with some good farm pond maintenance you can keep it in check and reap the benefits for your pond habitat.

When we bought our farm, one side of our pond was full of cattails. As several years passed, they grew denser and began to spread out into the middle of the pond. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recommends controlling the cattail plant by trimming the stalks just under the surface of the water after the first frost or applying an herbicide to the leaves.

This should be done every few years to keep the plant growth in check. In Letters to a Young Farmer , Amigo Bob Cantisano advises young farmers to learn from the experience of elders in their communities. Their advice was actually fairly close to the department of natural resources recommendation. Wait until the pond freezes solid with at least four inches of ice. Then go out on it with a snow shovel and cut the stalks off where they meet the ice.

Best case, the pond melts and refreezes, covering the remaining stubs with ice and cutting off the air supply to the root. This will provide control for a while longer. Cattails are monoecious , so the male and female flowers grow on the same plant. The male flowers, which are a shade of yellow, form at the top, and the female ones develop underneath in shades of green. The flowers appear during the summer, and in the fall, the tip of the stalk becomes bare when the male blooms drop off.

The female flowers change to a brown shade, and this is when the iconic sausage-shaped spike is visible. It might be stretching it somewhat, but the common name from these plants comes from the fact that it could be said the mature flowering plant looks a bit like a kitties tail! Cattails can spread rather aggressively, but aside from this, they are known to be a beneficial plant in their natural habitat.

The tall, dense clumps provide cover and nutrition for wildlife. Birds often create nesting areas within cattail growing areas. Over the years, cattail roots have also been used as a starchy food source and the stems have been harvested for making thatch materials, paper, furniture, headwear, and more.

Known for being an effective biomass source , they are often added to compost heaps and used as fuel. In garden landscapes, cattails are well suited to being grown around pounds , in water gardens, or in areas prone to flooding - they can easily grow in water up to ten inches deep.

They can also be a good choice for erosion control on wet slopes, and they make a great privacy screen too. The attractive stems are frequently added to flower arrangements in fresh or dried form. It's great that these plants are so easy-to-grow, but their fast spreading habit means they can quickly overtake the areas they are grown in. If you have limited space or are worried about them choking out other species, your cattails would be best kept in containers.

With the right conditions, you can develop a cattail colony in no time at all. Use rich loams and, if necessary, amend with water-retaining substances such as compost. Cattails grow well both in full sun and part shade. Sarah Moore has been a writer, editor and blogger since She holds a master's degree in journalism.

Home Guides Garden Gardening. By Sarah Moore. Related Articles.