Phragmites communis seed

LATIN NAME: Phragmites australis

COMMON NAME: Common Reed

The common reed shivers the feathery, purple plumes along the water’s edge, the tall, straight culms standing in the deep, graceful look of the wetland. The hardy, perennial grass carries the long, narrow, blue-green leaves along the tall, erect, hollow culms, and the dense, feathery, silky, purple-brown panicles, on the stem tops, through the late summer, one of the deep, quiet sights of the wetland, to be followed by the many small, slender seeds that drift off in the wind. The slender seeds have a very long record as the fine, thatching reeds of the old lands, and the plant is a historic presence of the wetland. It is a plant of the open, sunny, wet, rich ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The common reed is a historic subject of the plant science, and the feathery panicles keep showing up in the work on the wetland grasses. The way the dense, feathery, silky, purple-brown panicles form on the stem tops has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the wetland grasses, the hollow culms and the members of the grass family. The slender seeds and the deep habit have also made it a fine study grass, and the common reed is a regular subject of the work on the feathery panicles of the wet world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The common reed is a deep, useful plant of the wetland and the study collection. The long, narrow, blue-green leaves along the tall, erect, hollow culms carry the deep look of the wetland, one of the deep, quiet sights of the wetland, and the slender seeds have a very long record as the fine, thatching reeds of the old lands, the straight culms coming to the thatch, the mats, the screens and the steady craft of the old lands, while the dense, feathery, silky, purple-brown panicles, on the stem tops, open through the late summer, to be followed by the many small, slender seeds that drift off in the wind. It is one of the fine choices for the wetland, the pond margin and the study collection, and it has been written about in the botanical and the ecological papers for the slender seeds and the very long history. Where the spread is not welcome it is best kept to the places where the spread is welcome, so check the local advice before planting. It is a deep, useful plant of the open, sunny, wet, rich ground.

The reed seeds germinate well in a fine, silty loam kept wet. The young culms are fast and free, and they enjoy the wet, rich ground of the pond margin.

To grow the common reed from seed, sow the small, slender seeds evenly across the surface of the cell tray of fine, silty loam, water gently, then keep the tray in a bright, wet spot. The seedlings show themselves within a couple of weeks, and they grow on fast. With the sun and the wet, rich ground, the feathery plumes will shiver over the late summer.