Phragmites australis Seeds | Common Reed

Common Reed seeds (Phragmites australis)

LATIN NAME: Phragmites australis

COMMON NAME: Common Reed

Plant Profile

Phragmites australis, better known as Common Reed, is a hardy, perennial in the grass family. Common reed shivers feathery, purple plumes along the water’s edge, tall, straight culms standing in deep, graceful look of the wetland. It is a plant of open, sunny, wet, rich ground. The ratio of effort to reward here is about as good as gardening gets.

Science & Biotechnology

Like other members of the grass family, Phragmites australis draws steady attention from botanists and plant breeders, who value the genus both as a subject of research and as a source of garden-worthy material. Gardeners benefit directly from its long cultivation: what the plant will do in a garden is well understood.

Uses & Benefits

Gardeners value Common Reed for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. Common reed is a deep, useful plant of wetland and study collection. Where spread is not welcome it is best kept to places where spread is welcome, so check local advice before planting. It is a deep, useful plant of open, sunny, wet, rich ground. It takes hold quickly and asks for no special treatment from then on.

Common reed is a wetland engineer, filtering water in constructed wetlands, and its rhizome, Lu Gen, is a classical Chinese cooling herb for thirst and irritability.

Growing from Seed

Raising Common Reed from seed is straightforward. Fill a pot with a light seed compost, sow evenly on the surface, cover thinly and stand it somewhere warm, bright and evenly moist. Move strong seedlings into individual pots, keep them in good light, and set them out when the weather and their size agree.

Our Take

Among the Phragmites group, it is one of the more distinctive species in cultivation. Fresh seed sown into evenly moist compost is most of the battle won.

Common Reed (Phragmites australis) - picture 2

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