cattail , or cat - tail plants , are not the best option for every garden , so finding plants that share a similar look with unlike growing necessary might just be the slate .
Sometimes shout out bulrushes , common cattails ( Typha latifolia ) are fast - growing aquatic plant that grow good in USDA plant hardiness zones 3a to 10b . They require very sozzled conditions to grow well and are jolly invasive , so they might not be the best selection for every garden .
plant that depend like cattail are not exactly unwashed , although there are some plants that deal standardised trait but with unlike growing necessity that countenance them to grow in different climates and under different growing conditions .
About Cattail Plants
cattail are one of 51 semiaquatic wetland plant species that belong to the family Typhaceae . All cattails are recurrent plants that turn and spread via rhizomes , which colonise wetland areas and produce large strands of grassy foliation .
In bound , cattail plants produce hazy , cigar - shaped blossom heads that tally grain to water garden and flower arrangement . The bloom heads eventually turn to fluff , which can produce a mess as the plant life ages .
Only a few species of cattail are grown as pool plants , let in the common or broadleaf cattail and the narrow - leaf cattail ( Typha angustifolia ) , which grows in USDA plant hardiness zones 2a to 11b .
Warning
Cattails are rhizomatous plants that can spread out aggressively when grown in or near shallow water , so be sure to acquire them with a ascendent barrier in place to control their incursive tendency .
Plants That Look Like Cattails
While no plant front identical to cattails , some share their grassy show or offer large flower or seed structures that will add beaut to the landscape without being invasive .
Most cattail alternative are hardy plant life , but some are sore and are better suited to ardent climates where frost is uncommon .
Rushes and Sedges
thrill and sedge can be used as cattail alternatives in marshy sphere of the garden . One adaptable and showy sedge is Cherokee sedge ( Carex cherokeensis ) , which grows best in USDA plant hardiness zones 6a to 9b . Its grassy show and elongated brown flower heads give it a standardised appearance to cattails , but its rootstalk diffuse slow , so it is loose to control than cattails .
The attractive , easygoing unripened bulrush ( Scirpusatrovirens ) is another choice to cattails for freshwater ponds and garden . It grow upright in USDA zones 3 to 9 , where it needs full sunlight or fond shade . Green bulrushes reach a fledged height of 4 to 5 understructure and produce attractive bloom and ejaculate head in former summer .
Wild Irises
Wild irises ( Irisspp . ) raise pot - like foliage that adds height to landscape around pool and water garden . Although they miss the bleary flower stalks , idle sword lily do grow glossy flowers during their summertime bloom time .
Yellow sword lily ( Iris pseudacorus ) produce well under the same condition as mutual cattail and will tolerate up to 10 inches of water over their roots . These showy flowering plants do best in USDA plant hardiness zone 5a to 9b , so they are not as cold hardy as cattail , though they arise well in swamp soil with full - sun photo . Yellow irises strain a ripe superlative of 3 to 4 feet with a 1- to 3 - foot spread .
The northern risque signal flag ( Iris versicolor ) is another flowering plant life option to replace cattail plants in a water garden in USDA plant hardiness zones 3a to 9b . Sometimes prognosticate harlequin blasphemous - flags , these showy water plants are native to North America and will permit damp soil to casual flooding with no trouble . The leafage reaches a fledged height of 2 to 2 1/2 feet , so they are not as grandiloquent as cattail .
Ornamental Grasses
Some ornamental forage closely resemble cattail , although most prefer teetotal soil that drains well . raise these plant in pots if you design on growing them near urine .
Purple Majesty cosmetic millet ( Pennisetum glaucum’Purple Majesty ' ) looks like purple cattails . The works produce fatheaded maroon cum heads in summertime that nearly resemble the flowering stalks of cattails , and they bring out purpleness rather than green foliation . This 3- to 5 - substructure - tall grass multifariousness turn good in USDA flora hardiness zones 2 to 11 , where it needs full Dominicus and dry , fast - drain dirt to fly high .
disastrous fount grass ( Pennisetum alopecuroides’Moudry ' ) is another option if you are looking for a cattail - comparable ornamental green goddess that is suited to drier condition . This fountain grass variety is hardy to USDA zone 6 , where it will self - sow under the right conditions . Black fountain pasturage reaches a ripe height of 2 to 3 infantry with brushy seed heads that are somewhat exchangeable to cattail flower but with an airier look .
