Eriophorum angustifolium
Common cottongrass
Common names: Narrow-leaved cottongrass
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 50 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Flowering
- May–Jun
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: W. Bulach · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Narrow-leaved cottongrass is a native sedge that grows in bogs and wet meadows, showing its namesake white cotton tufts from mid-May, around calendar week 20. The species is named Eriophorum angustifolium, and the common name is sufficient in a garden context. Its narrow, grass-like leaves form loose tussocks, and the fluffy seed heads provide an attractive contrast to dark bog-bed greenery. The plant needs permanently moist, acidic and lime-free soil, so it is best suited to a bog or moist bed rather than a normal perennial border.
Care instructions
Cottongrass needs constant moisture: the root zone must never dry out, and a bog bed or the moist zone at a pond edge is ideal. Use only lime-free, low-peat to acidic substrate, for example a mix of sand and bark humus. Water with rainwater rather than tap water when needed, since lime-rich water disturbs the acidic conditions. In spring you can enjoy the white cotton heads, and faded flower stalks can simply be cut off afterwards. Cutting back the leaves in late winter keeps the tussock compact and encourages new growth.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringMay–Jun
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
moist, humus-rich, sandy, lean, lime-avoiding
Common cottongrass loves it permanently wet to waterlogged, preferably in a bog or marsh bed with peaty, acidic soil. A sandy, humus-rich, nutrient-poor substrate with a low pH comes closest to its origin in bogs. Better avoid chalky or heavily compacted soils; they noticeably slow growth.
Feeding
Light feeder
As a bog plant, common cottongrass needs practically no feeding; a nutrient-poor site is quite enough for it. In spring you can work a thin layer of well-rotted compost in at the edge of the bed if the soil becomes depleted over time. More important than fertiliser is constant moisture, which keeps the plant content.
Overwintering
Common cottongrass is hardy and needs no special protection. Leave the clumps standing in autumn; the old stems give the root zone extra protection from frost. In early spring, cut the dried foliage back close to the ground before the new growth comes.
Propagation
Methods
- Division
- From seed
The easiest way is to divide established clumps in spring with a sharp spade into fist-sized pieces and plant them straight away in a new, permanently moist spot. The pieces establish reliably and need only a few weeks to settle in. Sowing is also possible, but takes much longer to the first flowers and works best on permanently wet, peaty substrate. Keep freshly divided or sown plants especially evenly moist; they don't forgive drying out.
For your garden
Grow Common cottongrass yourself
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