What kind of growing environment is suitable for reeds

Flowers & Gardening Jan 1, 1970By Emily Carter 0 views

"Thick grow the reeds, the white dew turns to frost." The jianjia described in the Classic of Poetry is the reed. The reed is a tall perennial aquatic or wetland grass, generally common beside irrigation ditches and on riverbank swamps, and it grows all over the world. The reed's stems are upright, the plants are tall, swaying in the wind with a wild charm.

Reed family and genus

Poaceae, genus Phragmites

Other names for reed

wei, lu, lu sun, jianjia, Latin scientific namePhragmites australias Trin

Distribution range of reed

It grows all over the world, beside irrigation ditches, in riverbank swamps and other low wetlands or shallow water. It is distributed very widely in our country; the reed's reproductive capacity is relatively strong, and it easily forms continuous stretches of reed marsh.

Morphological characteristics of reed

Reed is aperennial plant of the grass family, with very well-developed rhizomes. The culm is upright, with20or more nodes; the internodes at the base and upper part are shorter, and the longest internode is at the4-6th node counting upward from the stem base, with a waxy powder below the node. The edge of the ligule is densely covered with a ring of short fine hairs that fall off easily; the leaf blade is lanceolate-linear, hairless on the surface, with the tip tapering gradually into a threadlike form. The reed has a large panicle with many branches, each branch bearing dense, drooping spikelets; the caryopsis is about1.5mm long.

Reedgrowing environment

The reed's reproductive capacity is very strong, and it grows better where there is water. Reeds in the North China region generally sprout in early4month, then enter a period of vigorous growth;8month first heads and then flowers;10month the seeds mature, and the seeds can spread with the wind. The reed's rhizomes are very well developed; in natural habitats it mainly reproduces by rhizomes, and the rhizomes have very strong vitality, so when they meet suitable conditions they can quickly grow new shoots to reproduce.