Grow and Care for Wood Rush

Grow wood rush as an evergreen groundcover in shade, in soil that stays moist. Wood rush is Luzula.

Give it shade and moist soil — not a soggy hole

Wood rush wants shade and soil that stays moist, not a soggy hole. It makes a good groundcover in a woodland bed. Full sun is fine only when the roots stay moist. Hot, dry sun scorches the leaves. [1] Once the clump is established, greater wood rush can hold a dry-shade patch under trees, but that is not a reason to skip water the first season. [2] greater wood rush is the spreading evergreen carpet with brown flower sprays in late spring. snowy wood rush is the slower clump with shiny white flower clusters. Both want the same shade and moist soil.

Plant at the same depth as the pot, in spring or fall

Plant a container clump in spring, or in fall if your winter is mild. Dig a hole about twice as wide as the root ball, and set the top of the root ball level with the soil. Too deep and the crown can rot. Too high and the roots dry out. [3]

1. Water the pot, then let it drain. Dig a hole about twice as wide as the root ball, in shade, on ground that stays moist but is not waterlogged.
2. Set the plant so the top of the root ball sits level with the soil. Backfill, firm gently, and water well.
3. Mulch around the clump, not over the crown. Keep the soil moist until new growth shows.

Split a crowded clump in spring

Lift a tired clump in mid-spring, when the soil is not frozen and not waterlogged. Pull or cut it into pieces that each keep healthy roots and several shoots, then replant at the same depth and water until they take.

1. Choose a spring day when the soil is workable. Dig the clump, and shake off loose soil.
2. Split it with a sharp spade, or with two forks back to back. Keep pieces that have roots and green shoots. Discard the dead center.
3. Replant at the same depth, and water until the divisions are growing.

Not corkscrew rush — and not a sedge or Japanese forest grass

Wood rush is Luzula, a woodland plant with flat leaves that have white hairs on the edges. Corkscrew rush is Juncus, usually hairless, and it wants wet ground — see How to Grow Rush. If you searched for a wet, curly pond rush and landed here, you want corkscrew rush, not wood rush. [4]

A sedge is Carex. Sedges have triangular stems. Wood rush does not — see How to Grow Sedge. Japanese forest grass is Hakonechloa, a true grass for moist shade — see How to Grow Japanese Forest Grass. Liriope and mondo grass are strap-leaf shade plants, not this genus — see How to Grow Liriope and How to Grow Mondo Grass. If the tag says wood rush and the leaves have white hairs on the margins, you still have Luzula.

Comb out tattered leaves in early spring

The foliage is evergreen in a mild winter, so do not cut the clump to the ground in fall. In early spring, comb out dead, withered leaves with gloved hands, and snip brown tips. You can also snip spent flower stems if you want a tidier mound.

1. Wait until early spring, before strong new growth. Do not shear the clump in fall.
2. Comb out dead leaves with your fingers. Snip brown tips with scissors. Leave the green blades in place.
3. Snip spent flower stems if you want a cleaner mound. Do not cut into the crown.

Plant the next clump in shade this spring, and keep the soil moist until it is established.