I dug some cat tails up from a swampy area and planted them in my
ponds inlet and outlet waterways. They multipled, and have grown
great, and are doing what I had wanted. However, none of them have
gotten the so called brownish colored cob thing on them yet. Is there
different types that do and don't have this cob? It matters not,
weathwer they have the cob or not, since as all I was looking for was
to make an area to fill in with some type of vegetation when the
water level gets low, and not have to look at weeds and mud, and since
they grow in relatively shallow areas do not have to worry about them
taking over my entire pond.

The question is just out of curiosty not need.
Thanks
--
Visit my website:
http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Contents: foundry and general metal working and lots of related projects.
Regards
Roy aka Chipmaker // Foxeye
Opinions are strictly those of my wife....I have had no input whatsoever.
Remove capital A from chipmAkr for correct email address

I have some that are around 4 years old I think, and just this year one of them
produced a seed stalk. The rest of them still haven't.

I don't know if this is the same as our Reed mace(Bull rush) if it is it can
grow in up to 4 ft of water with us, and mine didn't start to throw the Mace
heads till 3rd year, the root seems to need to mature, and the plants
probably didn't feel threatened so no rush to reproduce.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 20:56:18 GMT, Roy Hauer
wrote:

The question is just out of curiosty not need.

Are you sure the plant you dug up was a cattail? Not every rush-like
plant is a cattail.

and since
they grow in relatively shallow areas do not have to worry about them
taking over my entire pond.

Don't be to sure of that.... I just pulled some out of a friends 3 foot deep
pond and there wasn't much pond area left for the fish when I got there.....
They were no shorter then 7 foot tall and growing like mad.... they also
punctured the liner.
Colleen
zone 5 Connecticut.

On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 20:56:18 GMT, Roy Hauer
wrote:

I dug some cat tails up from a swampy area and planted them in my
ponds inlet and outlet waterways. They multipled, and have grown
great, and are doing what I had wanted. However, none of them have
gotten the so called brownish colored cob thing on them yet. Is there
different types that do and don't have this cob? It matters not,
weathwer they have the cob or not, since as all I was looking for was
to make an area to fill in with some type of vegetation when the
water level gets low, and not have to look at weeds and mud, and since
they grow in relatively shallow areas do not have to worry about them
taking over my entire pond.

The question is just out of curiosty not need.
Thanks

They will flower, believe me. I made the same misktake and let them
grow in my pond (25' x 18') and they took over the entire pond. I
spent several hours pulling them out, then pulling them out for
several months to eradicate them. I plant to plant a less invasive
variety, such as dwarf or varigated variety. I understand they are
edible, even the pollen is used in some dishes.

Thanks for all the info on cat tails. I really think now that the
problem is that they are too young, as they barely had stems much more
than 6" long and very small pieces of root system intact when I
planted them, so its probably just a matter of waiting some more.

Not too concerned about them taking over, as my pond may be small but
the banks drop very quickly and deep. On average its 4 to 5 feet right
off the bank drops, except for the inlet and outlet sections, and
after that drop it eventually gets to 20+ feet, pretty quick and its
only about 3/4 acre in size.

Like I said i want it for covering up the shallow inlet area and
outlet and give a somewhat natural wild look in these areas, as well
as provide some cover for critters and fish etc.

Thanks for all the replies


--
Visit my website:
http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Contents: foundry and general metal working and lots of related projects.
Regards
Roy aka Chipmaker // Foxeye
Opinions are strictly those of my wife....I have had no input whatsoever.
Remove capital A from chipmAkr for correct email address

Xref: kermit rec.gardens:243790

Phisherman wrote in message . ..
On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 20:56:18 GMT, Roy Hauer
wrote:

I dug some cat tails up from a swampy area and planted them in my
ponds inlet and outlet waterways. They multipled, and have grown
great, and are doing what I had wanted. However, none of them have
gotten the so called brownish colored cob thing on them yet. Is there
different types that do and don't have this cob? It matters not,
weathwer they have the cob or not, since as all I was looking for was
to make an area to fill in with some type of vegetation when the
water level gets low, and not have to look at weeds and mud, and since
they grow in relatively shallow areas do not have to worry about them
taking over my entire pond.

The question is just out of curiosty not need.
Thanks

They will flower, believe me. I made the same misktake and let them
grow in my pond (25' x 18') and they took over the entire pond. I
spent several hours pulling them out, then pulling them out for
several months to eradicate them. I plant to plant a less invasive
variety, such as dwarf or varigated variety. I understand they are
edible, even the pollen is used in some dishes.

They are actually quite good. The female cob, of course, around July,
and the inner shoot around May. Both are delicacies. I do not
understand why they are not sold commercially. Usually wild edibles
are too strong-flavored for commercial use, but not these. Perhaps
they are too perishable?

The message
from (simy1) contains these words:

Phisherman wrote
I understand they are
edible, even the pollen is used in some dishes.

They are actually quite good. The female cob, of course, around July,
and the inner shoot around May. Both are delicacies. I do not
understand why they are not sold commercially. Usually wild edibles
are too strong-flavored for commercial use, but not these. Perhaps
they are too perishable?

How do you prepare and eat them please?

Janet

1. Are you sure you have cattails? There's other rushes that
grow in swamps.

2. It can take several years for the cattails to establish well
enough to form cobs; this may be a patience issue.

3. Cattails prefer slightly acid water; they'll grow in other
conditions but aren't likely to fruit.

Chris Owens

Roy Hauer wrote:

I dug some cat tails up from a swampy area and planted them in my
ponds inlet and outlet waterways. They multipled, and have grown
great, and are doing what I had wanted. However, none of them have
gotten the so called brownish colored cob thing on them yet. Is there
different types that do and don't have this cob? It matters not,
weathwer they have the cob or not, since as all I was looking for was
to make an area to fill in with some type of vegetation when the
water level gets low, and not have to look at weeds and mud, and since
they grow in relatively shallow areas do not have to worry about them
taking over my entire pond.

The question is just out of curiosty not need.
Thanks
--
Visit my website:
http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Contents: foundry and general metal working and lots of related projects.
Regards
Roy aka Chipmaker // Foxeye
Opinions are strictly those of my wife....I have had no input whatsoever.
Remove capital A from chipmAkr for correct email address


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