Isolepis Species, Fiber Optic Grass, Low Bulrush, Salt Marsh Bulrush, Tufted Clubrush

I live in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri on the North side of the Missouri River. We have been noticing what appears to be this fibe...Read Morer optic grass growing along the edge of the access road to interstate 435. We have had a very wet summer this year and apparently it is thriving in this situation. They use salt to melt the snow on the roads so "Salt Marsh" seems to fit with that. Kansas City is really pushing the planting of "Rain Gardens" to help with flood mitigation and problems with overflowing storm sewers. We have several perpetually wet spots in low areas of our city parks next to a stream. I planted three areas in our parks into "rain-gardens" in May of this year. The two on the south side of the creek were planted with "Button Bush" I acquired from the Mo. dept of Conservation. All the area's have stayed wet all summer long but the two below the bushes is totally full of this very short 6-8 inch fiber optic grass plus one other miniature water plant I do not recognize. I would expect the rain garden on the other side of the creek to have the same plants, but that's not the case, they are very different. I do not know if the rushes will survive the winter but they are thriving right now. I agree they could be invasive. I'm glad to have a name and info on them. I don't see any harm they are causing at the moment. They seem perfect plants for a "Rain Garden. This mini-rush is currently thriving in Missouri. I don't need to purchase it I can dig it or Horsetail/scouring rushes from roadside ditches.

I love Dave's website! It is very informative and like the sharing of experiences. One question i have regarding the Fiber Optic Grass, S...Read Morealt Marsh Bulrush. I understand that is grows well in wet areas, ponds, etc. however, i note differences of opinions regarding light needs. Does this plant tolerate full sun or partial sun and shade? The garden is in North Central (Eastern) Washington state.

Received as a gift it grew nicely on a sunny screened in porch here in NC. I was told to keep it in water as it does well as a fountain o...Read Morer pond plant (which I have) and I hang it out on a very sunny porch during the day and bring it in at night due to freezing overnight temps we are experiencing. I trim the brown away and keep it sitting in about 6" of water. It has lots of roots growing into the water container (inside the hanging basket) but seems to be doing well. I'm hoping it will make it until spring then I can separate it into more plants.

I love the appearance of this plant so purchased and placed in a container with annuals this past year. Now I am trying to decide how to...Read More over winter it. My thoughts are to repot it by itself and then place it in the ground near the house, or to pot it and bring it inside. I live in a Chicago suburb, zone 4 or sometimes considered 4.5.

Recently Purchased /Master-Gardner's Show in Canby, OR; in May `09.
Seller/Grower said that to PROPIGATE.. take/SAVE the little E...Read Morend Pieces of the FIBER OPTIC (looking) Plant... He said it will look-Like ...
"SPECKS of BLACK PEPPER" /these are the *SEEDS.. or let the plant drop/throw them itself. (Think I will try placing a catch tray of somekind, help SAVE SEEDS.)
However` One month later-still in their original 'small pots' (although I watered them almost every*day).. some of mine look like they are turning brown, dieing.
If they truly need to be kept WET*-- I will try adding some SOIL-MOIST Crystals..(or Other Products /with same Formula) that *L-O-O-K* like (large crystals of epsom-salt) `but turn into 1/2 inch looking Wet-Jello BLOB-cubes/ after they Absorb the WATER..
Found that the product- does help keeping Moisture available for Plant. (But be sure to Read Instructions-Little goes a Long way.)

I bought this plant because I thought it was different and beautiful. It was listed as an annual, needing full sun, moderate water and gr...Read Moreowing to 6-8" tall. I planted this in May, and have kept it watered, but it has browned, and now completely died. Not sure what the problem was. My soil is clay and did not add anything to it. This is a new area for me to plan. The only other plants here have been irises, which apparently have done well, but very few have come up this year. Other plants I've planted have seemed to far to do well in this area to include bleeding heart, daisies, carnations, azalea, and others.

This plant seems to be popping up incrasingly where it was not planted. Although it doesn't seem to be a problem yet. I would consider ...Read Morethis plant potentially invasive under the right conditions.

I bought this plant because it looked really cool. I keep it as a houseplant in a sunny window. I just let it sit in about a half inch o...Read Moref water all the time. I trimmed the roots which grew out the bottom of the pot after about a year and intend to divide it soon, into separate pots.

HELP! I bought home a pot of fiber optic grass just 5 days ago and it appears to be dying already! the woman who sold it to me reminded m...Read Moree again and again not to over-water it. In fact, she told me to water it every 10 days, and if I see any brown, it's probably caused by too much water. I haven't watered it for the last 5 days, but now 1/2 of my plant has turned brown and the rest is wilting! I just found out from this site that the plant actually likes water. Can anyone please suggest ways to revive my plant besides keeping it moist and giving it indirect sunlight? Should I trim off the brown grass or will it magically turn green again? Thanks in advance.

This grows wild in our natural ponds. I dig it up and pot it for my garden ponds as a marginal.

This is in my outdoor pond in the summer and my small indoor pond in the sunroom in the winter. I brought something home from a nursery ...Read Morethat must have had mealy bugs on it (I always quarantine but somehow missed the MB) and they gravitated to the Fiber Optic plant in a New York second...I tried the alcohol spray but the plant is too thick...so I took it outside to the pond and it seems cured. I guess I'll find out for sure when I bring it in this fall. It thrived so well I will be dividing it at that time.

I have this plant in a container this season. It is about 8" tall and very attractive. It has been growing healthily for several months ...Read Morein full sun and drip irrigation. I have not overwintered it yet.
Mar, 2006. Continues to do well outside in pot. Overwintered x2 and looks great!

I bought a tray of plugs and planted them up in October 2003 and thought it best to keep them in a unheated shed ( insulated and lighting...Read More), so far most are still green and any that are a little brown I'll trim them up in the spring. I'll keep you updated.

i saw this plant in our local garden center and thought what a beautiful plant and bought it, on the tag that came with it it said "canno...Read Moret be over-watered" thinking that means it shouldn't be over-watered, now my beautiful grass has gone a horrid yellow colour, does anyone know if i can get this back to its original colour, thanks

I received this plant as a free gift for purchasing that particular day. Didn't have a clue what it needed so I put it in a pot, set the ...Read Morepot on the south step and it grew all summer. Really enjoyed comments from neighbors and family about it. Brought it in for the winter and trimmed it back to about 4" long. See how that works. I will keep it wetter after reading the other comments. Adding: it didn't make it through the winter, I believe I let it get too dry.

It is such a pretty plant but when I got some for the park beds that I a friend take care of, the tag didn't mention it was an aquatic. ...Read MoreWe had more than enough rain in my area this year so the plants did quite well but I will keep this in mind if it is to be planted again.

It is not actually a grass because they all belong to the family Poaceae (Gramineae). The Cyperaceae is the family to which all the sedge...Read Mores belong. Isolepis cernua is native to western and southern Europe and north Africa and is found in wet places, especially bare sandy or peaty habitats near the sea.

This is a miniature grass/sedge. It came tagged with the old name Scirpus cernuus cv. 'Tina Turner Grass.' I haven't been able to...Read More find any documentation on that name and not much on the plant itself.

It is growing in a constantly moist area at the edge of our pond.

I have been growing this plant indoors and it does great as long as I remember to water it a lot. I have seen it in many nurseries out he...Read Morere in the pacific northwest in both pots and in ponds. My friend leaves hers in water almost all the time and it is quite happy. I have been seeing it in gardening magazines planted with annuals in boxes. I think I am going to try it this year in a box and do colors of lime greens and dark purples. In fact just a few months ago mine out grew it's pot and needed to be divided, so I just chopped it into four pieces and they are all doing fine. It couldn't be easier to grow as long as it doesn't dry out!

It is beautiful!!!Thats why I bought it as soon as I saw it. But couldnt get any info on it...they didnt even know if it was an annual or...Read More perenial!Now, I see you list it as "Pond-Aquatic", and shade.That completely changes my idea of what to do with it.I will be watching for comments and looking for info.