Propagation is usually by division, but the minute reed can be planted in pots in water. Harvesting If the rhizomes are to be harvested for energy or food, it is suggested that fall might be the best time for harvesting. While I believe these figures are extremely optimistic, I would endorse a serious study of cattails as a potential energy source. Douglas Pratt is quoted in the Washington Star to recommend several advantages to cattails. Since they grow in wetlands, cattails do not compete for land that could be used for crops or forests, and drainage is unnecessary.
Cattails use some pollutants as nutrients.
Cattail farms near sewage treatment plants could clean troublesome nitrogen and phosphorus from effluent. Unlike nuclear power and fossil fuels, cattails do not add heat and carbon dioxide to the earth but recycle them. The plants use the sun's energy and the atmosphere's carbon dioxide to produce starches and sugars through photosynthesis. This heat and gas are returned to the cycle when the cattails are used as fuel. Wetlands are extensive and largely unused.