Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors from Stevenage, United Kingdom · CC BY-SA 2.0
Broadleaf cattail
Plant·Typha latifolia
Full sun
Sun
High
Water
Wet soil
Drainage
Zones 3–10
Hardiness
Broadleaf cattail (Typha latifolia) is a plant. It grows best in full sun and has high water needs.
Through the year
DormantLeafing outFloweringFruitingDying back
Works well with
from wiki dataNo companions recorded.
WHAT IT NEEDS
Wants full sun
Needs a lot of water
Tolerates wet or waterlogged soil
Prefers soil pH 4.5–7.5
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Prefers clay, loam, sand soil
Tolerates compacted soil well
Draws up nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium from deep in the soil
Adds a lot of organic matter to the soil
WHAT IT GIVES
Gives mulch biomass (high)
Gives oxygen (high)
Gives water filtration (high)
Provides nitrogen
Provides phosphorus
Provides potassium
Shelters wildlife
Shelters birds
Attracts beneficial insects
HOW IT GROWS
SIZE & SPACING
Herbaceous
Height150–300 cm
Spacing60 cm (min 30 cm)
Root depthShallow
Width60–120 cm
Width figures are rough estimates, the most variable measurement in our data.
AI estimate · accuracy improves as growers contribute corrections.
HOW TO PROPAGATE
Propagate by seed, rhizome division
Difficulty
Establishes in about 1 yr
Self-seeds freely and can spread on its own
Where this comes from
Parsed11 Sept 2026
ConfidenceNot recorded
Photograph Peter O'Connor aka anemoneprojectors from Stevenage, United Kingdom · CC BY-SA 2.0