An Official Website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
There are several species of cattails (Typha spp.), and all have flat to slightly rounded leaves that twist slightly over their length and can grow to 5 or 10 feet in height. The leaf blades are 1/4 to 1 inch wide and grow in clusters. The flowers, called a catkin, form a dense dark brown, cigar-shaped structure at the end of spikes. Cattails have both male and female flowers on the same plant, with the male flower above the female. There are two main species of cattail in Kentucky, the narrow cattail and the broad cattail. In the narrow cattail, the male flower is separated from the female by 1 to 5 inches of stem. In the broad cattail, the male spike sits just above the female flower and touches it. Cattails can be partially submerged or found in boggy areas with no permanently standing water. The plant can completely ring the shoreline of a pond in a few years if not controlled.
Cattails can be mowed and removed from the pond.
Information on mechanical treatment of aquatic vegetation
There are no biological control options for cattail.
The active ingredients that have been successful in treating cattail include Diquat (G), Glyphosate (E), Imazamox (E), and Imazapyr (E). E = excellent; G = good.
Information on chemical treatment of aquatic vegetation
Return to the emergent vegetation page
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