Dry cattail from the garden

Content

• Dry cattail from the garden
• Dry the cattail for dry bouquets and arrangements
• The lamp cleaner as a material for survival adventurers
• Use the properties of the cattail as a building material
• Tips

Dried cattails can be installed in stylish drying arrangements

Dry cattail from the garden

The cattail (Typha) is not only a decorative and useful vegetation on the garden pond, but can also serve in dried form as decoration material or for very practical purposes. Depending on the intended use, different times are recommended for harvesting the characteristic inflorescences.

Previous article Cattail plant in the garden or at the pond

Dry the cattail for dry bouquets and arrangements

The barrel-shaped inflorescences of the cattail are divided into two parts with a lower, female part (the dark brown "piston") and above the male part at the top. At the end of the flowering season, the seeds are completely ripened and the flasks can flake off so that the seeds and their hair threads are transported to a new location by wind and water. If you want to use the cattail flowers for dry bouquets and flower arrangements, you should harvest the "bulbs" as early as possible at the beginning of flowering in summer. Then dry the cut off flasks in a well-ventilated place so that they remain stable in the long term.

The lamp cleaner as a material for survival adventurers

Many survival adventurers use the fine hair threads on the seeds of the cattail as a material for the production of tinder. So it can be made in the wild simply fire, if you have no special kind of modern lighters available. For this purpose, first the seed maturity of the cattail is awaited before the wooly material is picked from the flask. 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 get a flammable kindling that should never be handled lightly.

Use the properties of the cattail as a building material

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

Tips

If the cattail grows on its own garden pond, the harvest of the inflorescences for their own needs is harmless at any time. On the other hand, there may be restrictions on wild stocks (not only in relation to the landowner), although the most common cattail species in Germany are not protected. Before you collect the lampshiner in the nature to dry, you should make sure that the selected location is not a nature reserve with specific regulations.