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Arundo donax |
 |
| | Two years after planting |
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| | Flowers in late summer |
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| | Cute side shoots |
| Common name |
giant reed |
| Family |
poaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z6-11) |
| Flowers |
purplish (late summer) |
| Size |
to 20' |
| Light |
sun |
| Cultural notes |
prefers moist soil |
Very tall grass, with corn-like leaves. Ours doesn't get as much water as it would prefer. But it still rises to close to the full 20-foot stature predicted by gardening sources, and thus qualifies as the tallest herbaceous perennial in our garden. The stalks get whipped around a bit in autumn storms, but they usually stay upright through winter; by spring, they are dry, like bamboo canes (although not quite as sturdy). My kids have at times used them as lances, so most years I try to discreetly dispose of them in spring cleanup.
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| | The canes in late December – wind-battered, but still towering over everything in their vicinity. |
| 
| | The plants spread by underground roots – in my case, not terribly aggressively, but still enough to have produced a bit of a forest on the slope behind our bog after six years of expanding. This photo is from mid-May, before they zoom upward. |
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| | Home-grown tomato stake |
| 
| | Impressive stand by mid-September |
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
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