PlantFiles: Fiber Optic Grass, Salt Marsh Bulrush
Isolepis cernua

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 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 End 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 growing 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 this 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 of 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 me 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 that 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 in 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), 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 "cannot 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 pot 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. We 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 sedges 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 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 here 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 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.