Kinds of Grasses That Grow in Shallow Water

Up to 3 Inches of Water

• Rice plant “Red Dragon” (Oryza sativa “Red Dragon”) and grassy-leaved sweet flag “Variegatus” (Acorus gramineus “Variegatus”) can grow in up to 3 inches of water. “Red Dragon” is an annual that grows 1 1/2 to 2.5 feet tall and typically placed in a submerged pot filled with garden soil, not potting mix. It features burgundy-red leaves and attracts birds. “Variegatus” has fragrant, green foliage with white stripes that grows 6 inches to 1 foot tall in USDA zones 6 through 8 and controls soil erosion.

Up to 12 Inches of Water

• Club rush “Zebrinus” (Schoenoplectus lacustris subsp. tabernaemontani “Zebrinus”) and papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) can thrive in water up to 12 inches deep and grow well in containers. “Zebrinus” sprouts hollow stems with creamy-white horizontal bands and grows in USDA zones 4 through 9. Able to thrive in the presence of air pollution or black walnut trees, it stands 2 to 5 feet tall and prefers full sun. Papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) forms triangular stems in a grass-like clump and sprouts an eye-catching umbrella-shape flower cluster of thread-like rays up to 1 foot long that put out greenish-brown flowers in the summer. It grows 5 to 8 feet tall in USDA zones 9 through 10.

Any Kind of Soil

• Certain kinds of grasses that grow in shallow water can grow in clay, loamy or sandy soil. Giant reed (Arundo donax) can sit in 1 to 5 inches of water and soars to a height of 12 to 20 feet tall in USDA zones 6 through 10. In USDA zones 9 through 10 this Mediterranean plant is evergreen and can become invasive, but in climates with frost, it less aggressive because it dies back in the winter. Arrowhead (Sagittaria graminea) thrives in 2 to 12 inches of water and grows 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall in USDA zones 4 through 10. This native to the eastern U.S. offers elliptic foliage and white, three-petal flowers that come out from spring through fall.

Seasonal Flooding

• Some grasses thrive despite occasional flooding. Tussock sedge is an evergreen for moist to wet soil, such as a seasonally swampy meadow. This native to the central U.S. grows 1 to 3 feet tall in USDA zones 3 through 8. Switch grass “Cheyenne Sky” is just the right choice for a dry or wet site, and accepts soggy soils. Chosen for its blue-green foliage that quickly matures to deep wine-red, it grows 2 to 3 feet tall in USDA zones 5 through 9.