The bulrush (Typha) is not only a decorative and useful plant in the garden pond, but can also be used in dried form as a decorative material or for very practical purposes. Depending on the intended use, different times are advisable for harvesting the characteristic inflorescences.

Dried cattails can be incorporated into chic drying arrangements

Drying the cattail for drying bouquets and arrangements

The cylindrical inflorescences of the cattail are bipartite with a lower, female part (the dark brown "piston") and above that the male part at the top. At the end of the flowering period, the seeds mature completely and the cobs can literally flake off, so that the seeds with their hairy threads are carried to a new location by wind and water. If you want to use the bulrush flowers for drying bouquets and flower arrangements, you should harvest the "bulbs" as early as possible at the beginning of the flowering period in summer. Then dry the cut flower spikes in a well-ventilated place so that they remain stable over the long term.

The lamp cleaner as material for survival adventurers

Many survival adventurers use the fine strands of hair on the seeds of cattails as material for making tinder. So you can easily make a fire in the wild if you don't have a special modern kind of lighter available. For this purpose, the cattails are first awaited for seed maturity before the woolly material is plucked from the cobs. Then the material is washed with shampoo or a similar detergent (against pest infestation) and dried again. By nitrating the "wool" with urine or special chemicals, adventurers obtain a highly flammable kindling that should never be handled lightly.

Use the properties of the cattail as a building material

In the meantime, the cattail has also been discovered for ecological construction methods in residential buildings. Just as the reed is used in some areas as a covering material for house roofs or for privacy mats, the material of the cattail inflorescences is suitable as a natural insulating material with excellent insulating properties. However, before using it, be sure to observe the relevant laws on fire protection and consult a building expert if you have any ideas in this direction.

tips

If the cattail grows in your own garden pond, harvesting the inflorescences for your own use is safe at any time. In the case of wild stocks, on the other hand, there may be restrictions (not only in relation to the property owner), although the most common cattail species in Germany are not under nature protection. Before you collect the lamp cleaner in nature to dry, you should make sure that the selected location is not a protected area with specific regulations.

The garden journal freshness ABC

How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?

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