Isolepis cernua - Fibre-Optic Plant, Slender Club-Rush

Regular price £5.95

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  • Approximate height: 15 - 20cm (6 - 8 inches)
  • Recommended water depth over crown of the plant: 1 - 5cm (½ - 2 inches)
  • Flowering time: June - August
  • Flower colour: White/Brown
  • Supplied in the solid 9cm pot we grow them in - for best results we recommend potting on using a 1 litre pot

​This unusual little British plant has very slender, grassy foliage, with tiny silvery-brown flowerheads on the end of the stems. These give it a rather other-worldly look, and are responsible for its common name of 'fibre-optic plant'. Still often known by its old name of Scirpus cernuus, it is found in the wild in the British Isles across a range of habitats. It is a small, neat, clump-forming plant with a slow to moderate speed of growth, and good for creating an interesting look in barrels, sinks, and tiny native set-ups as well as ponds. 

In sheltered spots the plant is evergreen, and this can make it useful for giving a splash of green to tiny ponds late in the year. However, by late winter the seedheads and foliage will be brown at the ends and looking tired. We suggest cutting the plant back hard at this time to allow new fresh foliage to grow through as the spring comes - this will look better than a mix of old and new stems. 

If designing a planting scheme, we recommend approximately 4 Isolepis cernua plants per square foot of ground, or 2 plants per linear foot of pond edge. Read more here on how to pot and care for your plant.