Softstem Bulrush
Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani
Other Common Names:Â Â California bulrush, Club Rush, Great Bulrush, Tall Bulrush, Soft Stem Bull Rush
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 3a-9b  Find Your Zone
Plant Type:Â Native Wetland Perennial Sedge / Rush
Height or Length at Maturity: 6-8’Â
Width at Maturity: 4-5’Â
Spacing: 4’ apart for groupings
Spacing: 4’ apart for groupings
Growth Habit / Form:Â Upright, Rhizomatous
Growth Rate:Â Very Fast
Flower Color:Â Reddish Brown
Flower Type:Â Â Cylindrical Spike
Flower Size:Â 3-4″ clusters
Flowering Period:Â Spring to Mid Summer
Flowering Period:Â Spring to Mid Summer
Fragrant Flowers:Â na
Foliage Color:Â Green
Fragrant Foliage:Â
Berries:Â na
Sun Needs:Â Full Sun
Water Needs:Â Â High
Soil Type:Â Clay, Loam, Sand, Silt
Soil Drainage:Â Wet to Standing Water
Soil pH:Â 5.5 – 7.5
Maintenance / Care:Â Very Low
Attracts:Â Birds, Visual attention
Resistances:Â Wet Soil, Deer, Disease, Humidity, Insect, Standing Water, Brackish Water
Description
One of if no the tallest and fastest growing among the rushes, Softstem Bulrush, also known as Great Bulrush, is a North American native water-loving plant that will form colonies in environments with wet soil and even standing water up to a depth of 12 inches. Keep in mind that it does require calm waters with little wave action, but can handle slow-moving water in streams. It thrives in containers submerged in the margins of garden ponds and also in the margins or shallow water in wetlands, swamps, wet prairies, larger ponds, lakes and any other “muddy” environments with consistently moist to wet soil or standing water. In late spring and summer, attractive orange-brown spikelet flower clusters droop downward from the tops of squeezable soft blue-green stems that can tower up to 8 feet tall. This vigorous plant is effortless to grow almost anywhere in the United States and has no insect or disease problems.
Wildlife Assets
Many wildlife species will appreciate Softstem Bulrush. Birds use it as a food source and it also serves as a cover for fish and smaller animals. It is also a natural solution to control erosion.
Landscape & Garden Uses
Growing 6 to 8 feet tall and spreading to 4 feet or so wide, Softstem Bulrush is ideal for use as a vertical accent in containers that can be situated in the margins of the garden pond at a depth up to 12 inches. It also looks great and thrives around the edges and submerged in the margins or shallow water in wetlands, swamps, wet prairies, larger ponds, lakes and any other “muddy” environments with consistently moist to wet soil or standing water. A nice grassy-textured vertical accent in combination container gardens with other plants that like a moist soil and part shade to shade. A fine addition to bog gardens, wetland gardens, pond gardens, native gardens, ornamental grass gardens and rock gardens.Â
Suggested Spacing:Â 4 feet for grouping or mass planting
How To Measure Total Square Feet Of A Planting Area
How Many Plants Needed To Cover A Planting Area?
Growing Preferences
Softstem Bulrush (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani) is very easy to grow in most any consistently moist to wet soil of average fertility and full sun to part shade. Can be grown in pots that are situated or submerged at the margins of the garden pond and other wet areas, even in standing water up to a 12 inch depth. Essentially maintenance free, there’s no need for fertilizer or pruning unless to remove a stray or broken stem.
Helpful Articles
Click on the link below for helpful tips on planting aquatic plants…
How To Plant Aquatic Plants in the Garden Pond
Plant Long & Prosper!
Questions? Contact Us!
Wilson,
So far, so good. My pond water in South Carolina is down. I planted the plant at the infeed of my pond area. The soil is always moist and hopefully under water when the pond refills. Should work fine!
Need some Arrowhead. Do you provide?
Thanks,
DMM————————————————————————Sorry we do not have Arrowhead. But we are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
So far, so good. My pond water in South Carolina is down. I planted the plant at the infeed of my pond area. The soil is always moist and hopefully under water when the pond refills. Should work fine!
Need some Arrowhead. Do you provide?
Thanks,
DMM————————————————————————Sorry we do not have Arrowhead. But we are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

























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