Hopefully some southern members can provide more information. In my area NW Ohio healthy stands of broad leaf cattail (the standard broad leaf species - Typha latifolia vs the narrow leaf species T. angustifolia) will grow up to 6 ft tall out of the water in the shallow areas. Cattails in our ponds will grow into water to FOUR feet deep. The narrow leaf species usually does not grow much deeper than in 15"-24" of water. Broad leaf species are really hard to manually remove once they get into water deeper than 2.5-3ft. Spread will often be determined by the pond bottom conditions. I am not familiar with how cattail growth habits are in southern ponds that do not get ice cover. A good herbicide to eradicate cattails is glycosphate based (Redeo plus an added surfactant or a combo compound is Shore Klear Plus). Best time to spray cattails for best kill is after they form seed heads (Aug-Oct).
Mike, if you want marginal less invasive emergant plants then buy and plant other speices such as Lousiana iris, wild northern blue flag or water iris (Iris versicolor), arrowheads, pickeral weed, sweetflag (Acorus calamus; I prefer varigated), or use some of the shorter species of "wild" native Spike rush (one is needle spikerush). Three square rush (Scirpus americanus) is fairly short up to 2ft tall and does not get real dense (distance between stems) but it spreads fairly fast and can sometimes grow deeper than knee deep.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 10/31/09 09:40 PM.
