Japanese millet

Echinochloa esculenta

Fast-growing warm-season annual grass that thrives where most cover crops drown. Tolerates wet, waterlogged, and even briefly flooded soils.

Hardiness ratings

Japanese millet hardiness across the four zone systems
SystemRatingTemperature rangeHow to read it
USDA hardiness zone Zone 3–11 −40 °C to 10 °C Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating
RHS hardiness rating H7 down to −20 °C Plant needs at least this level of cold tolerance
Canadian plant hardiness zone Zone 3–9 −34 °C and warmer Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating
Australian (ANBG) zone Zone 1–7 −15 °C and warmer Zones where it can be grown as an annual — not a frost-tolerance rating

As a tender annual, Japanese millet doesn't overwinter — the zone range shows where the growing season supports it. See the RHS rating for its actual cold tolerance.

Growing notes

  • One of the few cover crops that handles saturated soil — useful where drainage is poor or seasonally wet
  • Edible grain — also widely sown for duck and game-bird forage in wetland plots
  • Fast biomass producer in warm summers

Categories

Related plants

Cross-check Japanese millet against your zones

Reference

Japanese millet on Wikipedia