Diane, I looked your plant up in my house plant encyclopeia..here's what it says: Juncus (rush) Genus of about 300 species of grass-like, hairless, evergreen or deciduous rhizomatous perrenials, widely distributed througout the world, but mostly occurring in cool-temp regions, particularly in heavy, wet, acidic soil. The stems are cylindrical, nodeless, and usually solid and the leaves when present are small and narrow, often reduced to basal sheaths. Unlike grasses and sedges, rushes prodcue small green or brown flowers w/6 tepals. ornamental forms include cultivars w/twisted or variegated stems. Rushes are suitable for a pond side or bog garden: some thrive in moist garden soil or in containers.
Grow in permanently moist, acidic soil in sun or partial shade.
To propagate..sow seed in 43-54F in spring or divide from midspring to early summer.
Pests and diseases..Rusts, fungal leaf spot and stem rots are common.
Hope this helps..Toni

Thanks Toni

This info does help me out:-) I hope I can provide enough sun for it as my windows are crowded with Hoyas and such and they take priority!

No matter, for $10.00 I'll give it my best shot at keeping it healthy. It's way cooler looking than a bouquet of flowers so if it doesn't thrive....it doesn't thrive. (but I am gonna give it a hearty try:-)

Thanks again
Diane

I have had a juncus for about 5 months now and also can't find any information about growing it as a houseplant. Unfortunately mine is not thriving, even in a south-facing window. I am keeping it very moist, which means tons of fungus gnats are now flying around and driving me crazy. It also seems to be dying back from the tips no matter what I do. Mine will soon go into the garbage (despite being a very cool looking plant) unless I can get some cultural advice. :(

So far so good but it's only been a week.... and I am afraid of getting a gnat party going, so I think I'll try taking all the soil off the roots and grow it in Hydroton clay pellets. That should keep it nicely moist and gnat free.

I'll keep you posted on how it works out:-)
Diane

Keeping this or any plant very moist when it is container grown is a difficult challenge unless you have the right growing medium. Ordinary houseplant potting mix will not work! Even though these plants like a moist environment, they must also have plenty of oxygen at the roots, which simply won't happen with ordinary soil. To say nothing of the fungus gnats, lol!

I'd be very tempted to go with the clay pellets, or do a complete switch to very coarse mix with very little peat. Do a search for Al's recipe for ideas.

oooooh, hydroculture sounds like a fine idea for this plant. I have never done it before but have always wanted to try. I think my juncus may be too far gone to do that this time (dying back from the tips), but if I ever find another I'll give it a go. :) Keep me posted!

I will keep you posted (of course:-)

I got my Hyrdoton and my local hydro store and they sold me a gallon pot of it to me for $2.00. I wanted to try it but didn't want to buy a 50 liter bag of the stuff. Even a 10 liter bag would have been too large of an amount for my experiments at this time.

Fun stuff and it opens the door wide to play with containers with no drainage:-) So far, mostly glass vases so I can see the water level and the wicking action! Yahoo!

Diane

Shiver, lastnight I ordered a Juncus..go to www.worldplants.com and you'll find one..I also ordered a Papyrus and Fiber Optic plant, all water plants..I'm going to make a water planter and see how it does. I plan on holding the roots down w/pebbles and keeping the contaier filled w/water. Toni

Diane, When I saw your zone 0 I shivered...LOL Growing these in water rather than soil sounds like a good idea. Mine are all outside in containers but I think if I did try indoors I'd keep soil damp rather than really wet. This would cut down on insect problem too. A few years ago I did try the Spiral Juncus inside but it wasn't too happy...hope y'all have better luck.

I tried to link to Plantdelights.com for several great Juncus but for some reason can't make link work. Also, one of my favorites I found in a damp sandy ditch near a creek...so you might try keeping your eyes open in your zone. Even non-curly ones are interesting in form to contrast with other plants. josh

Brrrr is right!! The furnace just came one while I was reading this post!

I just checked the temp. outside and it's 1c or 34f. :-(

Diane

Diane, I note from your page that you grow mostly in containers...me, too, but in my case it's because of our long hot summers (and my creaky knees). I go out at dawn to water, and try to site containers where I can admire them from inside! And I grow lots of indoor plants just because I love to be surrounded in the winter with plants, but it must be even more vital in your zone.

We're still running airconditioner although our days are now moderating to below 90 degrees F most days. I'll enjoy watching for your posts...it's fun to hear about other parts of the country and what's available. josh

I really love the wacky shape of Juncus spiralis, but have found an even better Juncus...Juncus Big Twister. Its being sold at the nursery I work at. It's larger and even more exaggerated in its corkscrew action! Big Twister can be found at santarosagardens.com.

I love indoor plants and containers as well. Try a well-draining potting soil for juncus, but keep it from extended drying. You could even try mixing in some water absorbing gel crystals (aquagel is one brand available).

I've even grown juncus atop a small-mouthed fish bowl as an open air plant with the roots hanging into the water. It did very well for months on my desk that way. Wow...34f in September! Woke up this morning to below 70f weather and it was a delightful change from the heat of late summer.

We are all gathered here today to remember Lyle, (as in Lovette, I just HAD to name him that, but maybe the spelling on that is wrong?) as the crazy haired guy that he WAS! *sniff* He died so young but we will remember him fondly:-(

He didn't suffer to much and has been laid to rest in Diane's garbage can!

Lyle brought a lot of life to her kitchen table and warmed the hearts of all who saw/knew him:-)

Diane

I tried growing this indoors a couple of times and was unsuccessful, too!

I'm wondering, though, if there's no information on growing them indoors due to the fact that they're simply not meant to be grown that way....meaning they need a cold dormant period? (Toni's info does state they they mostly occur in cool temp regions.....and if that means temperate, they likely need a dormancy.)

There are a lot of plants that aren't meant to be grown indoors permanently, but can be given a dormant period on an unheated porch, garage or the like, and then brought back indoors when they resume growth.

I grow quite a few plants in a similar way.
They live on my unheated sunporch where they're allowed that winter dormancy.
By experimenting, I've discovered that my porch is about the equivalent of a zone 7.

So maybe, Diane...you should dig yours out of the trash and give it a cool and dormant rest?

Too late and I couldn't even if I wanted to. Mobile home living without a basement doesn't allow for cool/cold storage!

+72F inside, -40F outside.....(About +45F outside now) Where shall I put it?

Thanks for the idea though, I might have tryed that had I had a basement:-)

Diane

Bummer :( ....well, there's always next year to buy another if your heart desires!

I have spiral rush in one of my barrel watergardens outside. I grow all of my bog plants in pea gravel in mesh baskets. I have multiple watergardens. Spiral rush does not like the crown to be covered with water. It likes wet feet and dry ankles if that makes sense. There are quite a few cultivars including dwarves. I've never tried growing it indoors. My house does not have good windows and it is perfectly hardy here and in colder zones outside. Not sure how cold.

Indoors I would think as much light as possible since it is a full sun plant outdoors. If I were to grow it indoors I would not use regular potting soil as already advised above. Hydroculture would be great as long as the crown isn't submerged.

I forgot to say that these plants are very common with watergardeners and you could easily find one for sale or trade at various aquatic plant exchange sites. Rather than paying big bucks to mail order it. They divide easily.

LOL, buyorsell888! 'Wet feet and dry ankles'...never heard it put that way..I like that:)

I'm curious since you grow it...have you found that it has a dormancy that may be induced by cold?
Does it remain 'evergreen' or does it's foliage die back and re-grow for you?

Evergreen

I have another Juncus species in a floating planter in my pond and it is evergreen too.

I did not make up the wet feet, dry ankles description. I read it long ago by someone on a watergardening forum and thought it was a good visual.

I may be wrong but I've noticed that it's doing poorly in clay pots, maybe because of alkaline reaction caused by clay as this plant grows in acid soils .