What soil does Giant reed grow in?

It tolerates these soils: average garden soil, clay, sandy.

Hardy down to -23 °C (USDA zone 6, RHS H7). It gets through winter everywhere at lower altitudes, but may not survive unprotected in a mountain garden.

When does Giant reed flower?

Flowering: September–October, purple.

How much water does Giant reed need?

Water need: medium. Drought tolerance: medium.

What should I plant instead of Giant reed?

We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens. For a similar purpose we recommend: Maiden grass 'Gracillimus', Feather reed grass, Feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster', Rufa clumping bamboo.

Giant reed

Arundo donax

Giant reed (Arundo donax) is an ornamental grass. Light: full sun, part shade. Hardy down to -23 °C. Drought tolerance: medium. Sold in local shops from about €12. We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens.

Illustration of Giant reed — An illustration of the typical shape of the mature plant, not a photo.

What it's good for, and what it isn't

The largest grass grown in Europe: its bamboo-like canes with grey-green leaves reach 3 to 5 m in a single summer, so it quickly gives a tropical-looking backdrop or summer screen. It likes a warm, sunny place in moist or average soil and copes with pond margins as well as short dry spells. The canes die with the first frosts and it regrows from the base in spring; the clump widens slowly but persistently by rhizomes, so give it plenty of room and never plant it near a stream, ditch or natural water edge.

We do not recommend this plant

We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens. Further down we show what to plant instead.

Watch out for

It spreads by thick, woody rhizomes: the clump widens every year, can become a solid stand of several square metres, and an old one can only be removed with heavy digging or machinery. Any jointed piece of cane or rhizome can root, and pieces that reach water start new colonies downstream; in our climate it practically never spreads by seed. It is counted among the world's worst invasive plants, does serious damage along Mediterranean rivers (Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece) and has been added to the European plant protection organisation's list of invasive alien plants; Slovenian experts rate it invasive in their country too. It is not on the EU Union list or the Hungarian invasive plant list, nor on the official Slovak or Swiss lists. In areas with frosty winters it is far more restrained than in the Mediterranean, but never take cut canes or dug-out rhizomes into the countryside or to a water edge: dry them out and put them in the waste. What keeps it in check in a garden: a large tub or a strong container sunk into the ground, a closed pot rather than a mesh basket in ponds, and in open ground cutting round the clump with a spade every year. Hardiness is borderline in cold winters: the canes die in the first real frost, the rootstock survives to roughly -20 °C according to the sources, but young plants and the more tender variegated form need a thick autumn mulch and can still be lost in a hard winter without snow. Where summers are short it often does not flower. Tall canes may lodge by late summer.

Key facts

Light: Full sun, Part shade
Water need: Medium
Care: High
Size after 10 years: 4 m × 2.5 m
Hardiness: down to -23 °C
Foliage: Deciduous
Flowering: J F M A M J J A S O N D September–October, purple

Group	Ornamental grass
Light	Full sun, Part shade
Size after 10 years	4 m × 2.5 m
Ultimate size	3–6 m × 1.5–2.7 m
Hardiness	down to -23 °C (USDA 6, RHS H7)
Soil	Average garden soil, Clay, Sandy
Foliage	Deciduous
Flowering	September–October, purple
Water need	Medium
Drought tolerance	Medium
Maintenance	High
Root aggressiveness	High
Suckering	no data
Spreading	High
Distance from buildings	no data
Distance from paving	no data
Litter	not typical
Planting distance	150 cm
For dogs	no data
For cats	no data
For children	no data
Typical price	from about €12

Toxicity data is for information only. If your pet or child has eaten a plant, contact a vet or a doctor.

What to plant instead

Recommended plants that do the same job, with similar characteristics.

Maiden grass 'Gracillimus'

Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' 2 m × 1.2 m after 10 years

Its narrow, arching leaves form a fountain-shaped clump that works well at the back of a border or as a standalone accent. Give it a sunny position,…

Ornamental grass

Full sun

Part shade

from about €8

Feather reed grass

Calamagrostis × acutiflora 1.5 m × 60 cm after 10 years

A narrow, strictly upright ornamental grass that flowers as early as the start of summer and keeps its straw-coloured stems standing all winter, so it…

Ornamental grass

Full sun

Part shade

from about €7.90

Feather reed grass 'Karl Foerster'

Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' 1.5 m × 75 cm after 10 years

A strictly upright, narrow ornamental grass that flowers as early as the start of summer and keeps its straw-coloured stems standing all winter. It…

Ornamental grass

Full sun

Part shade

from about €8

Rufa clumping bamboo

Fargesia rufa 2.5 m × 2 m after 10 years

A clump-forming bamboo that does not run, so you can plant it without a root barrier: the clump widens slowly but never wanders through the garden. It…

Ornamental grass

Full sun

Part shade

from about €20

Sizes and prices available

The same plant is sold as a small pot and as a specimen several metres tall, and the price follows. Prices are rounded and for guidance only.

Size	Typical price
size not stated	approx. €12

Frequently asked questions

Data updated: October 13, 2026 · How our data is made

Looks good next to it

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Elaeagnus × ebbingei

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Magnolia grandiflora

Oregon grape

Mahonia aquifolium