This is a popular garden plant and it grows easily in good garden soil in sun or shade. In bright sun the clumps will be more compact and the stems more closely packed, whereas in the shade the plants will grow taller with fewer stems giving a more graceful effect. It is quite happy growing in shallow water, or waterlogged soil but is equally happy in normal garden soil. It does well in containers or water features, and is a useful plant for waterlogged soil and heavy clay soils. This is a tender perennial, but it will survive outdoors where the winter minimum is -7ºC / 30ºF (USDA zone 9). Frost will kill the foliage but the plant will resprout in spring provided the roots were not frozen.

Use Cyperus textilis as an accent plant on the banks of ponds, lakes, streams and rivers. In a container it can be used to beautiful effect in a water feature or fish pond. It also makes an interesting addition to the sunny or shady border and is invaluable in a permanently or seasonally wet or boggy area of the garden.

Propagation is easiest by division of the clumps. When dividing a clump, it is best to keep the younger growth from the outside edges and discard the old growth at the centre. Cyperus can also be propagated by seed or by cuttings. Cuttings are made from the top 50 mm or so of a stem, including the 'umbrella'. Some of the leaf-like bracts can be removed to reduce water loss, and the cutting placed in a shallow tray of water or in moist sand. Young plants should arise from the centre of the 'umbrella' and once they have developed roots they can be removed and potted up.