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Club rush

Schoenoplectus lacustris (skee-no-PLEK-tus lak-US-triss)

Family: Cyperaceae Non-native Herbaceous (3-15 ft)

Club rusn is an ornamental, evergreen, perennial grass in the sedge family, often found at the margins of wetlands, with rush-like stems growing to a mature height of 8 feet. The plant forms clumps with a width of 4 feet that slowly spread. The plant produces brown flowers at the tips of the stems and leaves that will turn brown in the fall. The genus name means pertaining to lakes. The species name honors Jakob Theodor von Bergzabern, a sixteenth century botanist who latinized his name to Tabernaemontanus. Club rush does best in full sun and wet, mucky soil, but will tolerate partial shade. You should plant the grass in shallow, standing water, up to 6 inches deep, or grow in 2 to 5 gallon submerged containers. It would also do well sited at the edge of a pond or stream. Club rush has a clumping habit and can be propagated by division of the clumps in the spring. The vigorous root system will also spread and form colonies by means of creeping rhizomes. It can be pruned to control spread. Club rush is a water plant and would do well in a rain garden or similar wet environment. Clemson Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on water and bog plants, including Schoenoplectus lacustris . Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No known diseases or insect pests.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 48 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Water Plant
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Frequent Standing Water | Moist
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 4 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in. | Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Creeping; Spreading
Foliage
Broadleaf Evergreen
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Sheath
Leaf arrangement
Other/more complex
Leaf size
> 6 inches long
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves are bladeless sheaths around the stem, but blades up to 39 inches long can be formed under water. Leaves turn brown in fall.
Fall color
Brown/Copper
Flower color
Brown/Copper
Flower value
Long Bloom Season
Flower form
Insignificant; Spike
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
Very small, brown flowers appear in spikelets at the tips of 5 foot stems in late summer into fall.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit detail
Seeds ripen in August and September.
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Round, solid, green stems.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe, Mediteranean east to Mongolia, Japan
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Fruit type
Achene

Uses (ethnobotany)

Stems are used for matting, chair bottoms, and thatching.

Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Pond
Landscape theme
Rain Garden; Water Garden
Design feature
Small groups
Garden tags
#clumping #standing water tolerant #wet soil #spreading #ornamental grass #wetland margins #water garden #wet sites #rhizomatous #fall color bronze #evergreen perenial #fall interest
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Black Walnut; Pollution
Propagation
Division; Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.