Typha minima

The familiar bulrush found beside ponds, lakes and streams, is too large and invasive for all but the largest gardens, but Typha minima is a tiny species with a perfect miniature form. It's ideal for growing in small ponds and even aquatic tubs. Its creeping rhizomes will spread steadily, nonetheless, and it's best confined to a basket. The male flowers appear in summer as small tufts above the familiar bulrush, which is the female flower-spike, and where numerous seeds may form. If this is a problem, plants can be deadheaded, but this will remove the ornamental bulrushes.

Grow Typha minima in baskets of aquatic compost in full sun to partial shade. To propagate, divide plants in spring.