What is reed canary grass and why is it used in substrates?

Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) is a tall perennial grass used as a renewable fibre component in growing media. It is valued for its high air capacity, stable structure, and ability to improve drainage in blended substrates, making it a practical raw material for commercial greenhouse cultivation. The sections below address where it comes from, how it performs, and how it compares to other substrate materials.

Where does reed canary grass come from?

Reed canary grass is a perennial grass native to Europe, Asia, and North America. It grows naturally along the margins of lakes, streams, and wetland areas, and has a long history of use in agriculture for hay, forage, and erosion control. For substrate use, however, it is not wild-harvested; it is purpose-grown as a controlled agricultural crop.

Kekkilä-BVB sources its reed canary grass from dedicated cultivation areas in western and northern Finland, managed in partnership with Neova Group on former peat production land. The crop is a perennial that delivers its first harvest roughly two years after sowing and continues producing for over a decade. As of 2026, cultivation covers more than 1,400 hectares, with Neova’s harvesting programme expanding to supply a growing volume of this material exclusively for growing media production.

This controlled, purpose-grown supply chain is a deliberate design choice. Rather than relying on wild stands or imported materials, the entire cultivation and harvesting process is managed under exclusive rights, giving professional growers confidence in a consistent, traceable raw material with a fully European origin.

What properties make reed canary grass useful in growing media?

Reed canary grass is useful in growing media because of its high air capacity, coarse pore structure, and stable physical form. These properties improve drainage, prevent waterlogging, and support healthy root development, qualities that are directly relevant to professional greenhouse cultivation where precise control of air-to-water ratios is essential.

The material’s coarse pores mean it holds relatively little water but allows air to move freely through the substrate. This keeps the upper layer of the growing container dry, which reduces the risk of algae and surface mould, a practical benefit in high-humidity greenhouse environments. It also makes irrigation management more predictable, since growers can apply water with greater confidence that the substrate will drain rather than retain excess moisture.

Reed canary grass has a natural pH of 5.0 to 6.0, which is broadly suitable for most horticultural crops without requiring significant pH adjustment. Its structure is stable and dry, which means it processes well in potting machinery and maintains its physical properties within a blended mix over time. According to Kekkilä-BVB’s growing media materials overview, the material also enhances rooting and root distribution, a finding confirmed through trials with commercial growers and research centres.

One technical consideration worth noting is the material’s carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, which is lower than both peat and coir. This means that inorganic nitrogen in the substrate can be consumed relatively quickly by microbial activity, so growers and substrate formulators need to account for this when designing fertilisation programmes.

How is reed canary grass processed into substrate material?

Reed canary grass is harvested in early spring when the ground is still frozen and air humidity is at its lowest. Standard agricultural machinery is used to mow and bale the crop into round bales, which are kept to a moisture content below 15 per cent. It is then transported to a dedicated processing facility for conversion into substrate-grade material.

Finland’s first dedicated reed canary grass production line was completed at Kekkilä-BVB’s Parkano facility in 2025, representing a one-million-euro investment and combining processing technologies not previously used in growing media production. On this line, the grass, which can grow up to two metres tall, is first crushed and then hygienised by heating. This thermal treatment eliminates weed seeds, pathogens, and pests, ensuring that the processed material is safe for use in professional greenhouse environments where contamination would be damaging to cultivated crops.

After processing, the material is baled and transported to Kekkilä-BVB’s other production facilities in Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands, where it is incorporated into blended growing media alongside peat, sphagnum moss, wood fibre, and other components. The Parkano production line represents the first step in scaling this processing capacity to meet growing demand across Kekkilä-BVB’s European customer base.

What crops or growing systems is reed canary grass substrate suited for?

Reed canary grass is suited for a broad range of professional greenhouse applications, including ornamental plants, soft fruits, herbs, perennials, and tree nurseries. It is used as a component in blended growing media rather than as a standalone substrate, and its physical properties make it particularly well matched to crops and container types that benefit from improved drainage and air-filled porosity.

Commercial trials have demonstrated its value across several crop categories. Dutch ornamental grower SV.CO has incorporated reed canary grass permanently into its substrate blend for Yucca palms following strong growth performance, and reports stable results when growing flowering plants such as kalanchoe. In Finland, grower Ansari completed successful trials using a Kekkilä Professional blend containing reed canary grass, sphagnum moss, and wood fibre, first for poinsettias, then for chrysanthemums, with flowers going directly to market in good condition.

Peer-reviewed research has also evaluated ground reed canary grass straw as a substrate component for strawberry cultivation, finding comparable total yield, berry size, and sugar-to-acid ratio to peat and coir substrates, provided that irrigation regimes are adjusted to account for the material’s lower water holding capacity.

Its water permeability also makes it practical for use in larger growing containers, where finer substrate fractions can sometimes restrict drainage. The material’s dry, stable structure means it performs reliably in automated potting systems, an important operational consideration for commercial-scale greenhouse producers. Reed canary grass is positioned as one component within Kekkilä-BVB’s approach to growing media product range, designed to be combined with other materials to meet the specific needs of each crop and cultivation system.

How does reed canary grass compare to peat and other peat alternatives?

Reed canary grass is not a direct replacement for peat; it is a complementary component that adds air capacity and drainage to a blended mix. Compared to peat, it has a lower water holding capacity and lower buffering capacity, but a broadly similar pH range. In a well-designed blend, the two materials work together: peat retains moisture and nutrients while reed canary grass keeps the structure open and aerated.

Peat remains an exceptional growing medium with properties, including high water holding capacity, high air holding capacity, low natural pH, and high cation exchange capacity, that no single material has yet replicated in combination. Reed canary grass does not attempt to replicate these properties; instead, it functions as a structural and aeration component, substituting for materials such as perlite, bark, coir, and coarse peat fractions within a blend. Research indicates it can reduce peat content in a mix by up to 30 per cent without compromising overall growing performance.

Compared to coir, reed canary grass has a lower water holding capacity but a similar buffering capacity. The more significant practical difference is supply chain geography: coir is sourced from tropical regions and transported over long distances, whereas reed canary grass is cultivated, processed, and distributed entirely within Northern Europe. This keeps transport distances short and the supply chain within a single regulatory environment.

Kekkilä-BVB uses approximately six million cubic metres of various materials annually in its growing media, with a growing proportion already coming from renewable sources. Reed canary grass is being integrated as an additional renewable fibre alongside wood fibre, sphagnum moss, composts, and other materials, reflecting the industry direction towards multi-material growing media that draw on diverse raw material sources to meet grower needs.

Is reed canary grass a sustainable choice for professional growers?

Reed canary grass has several measurable environmental attributes that make it a strong candidate for professional growers looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their substrate inputs. It is a renewable annual crop, grown entirely within Europe, harvested without long-distance transport, and cultivated on land that was previously used for peat extraction, where growing a perennial grass crop supports carbon sequestration compared to bare peat soil.

The environmental case for reed canary grass rests on specific, verifiable characteristics rather than broad claims. It is locally produced in Finland, processed in Finland, and distributed to production sites in Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands, a supply chain with a substantially shorter transport distance than materials sourced from tropical regions. Its cultivation on former peat production areas has been the subject of scientific research examining greenhouse gas balances, with studies indicating that establishing perennial grass cover on abandoned peat extraction sites can reduce net emissions compared to leaving the land bare.

Kekkilä-BVB has committed through its Sustainability Roadmap to increase the share of circular raw materials to 45% by 2030, and reed canary grass is a part of that commitment. The company controls the entire value chain, from cultivation on Neova’s former peat land through to annual harvesting under exclusive rights and processing at its own facilities, which provides supply security for customers and allows consistent quality to be maintained.

For growers making sourcing decisions, the relevant questions are practical ones: does the substrate perform reliably, is the supply chain secure, and are the environmental attributes of the material specific and verifiable? On all three counts, reed canary grass as used in Kekkilä-BVB’s growing media blends offers a well-documented answer. Growers interested in understanding how these materials fit within a broader approach to resource-responsible production can explore Kekkilä-BVB’s sustainability commitments or contact the team directly to discuss substrate options for specific crops and growing systems.

This content was generated with the help of AI and it may contain mistakes