Product Overview
Zebra Rush (Scirpus zebrinus) shallow water pond plant
This attractive pond plant adds a vertical accent to your water garden. The 2' to 5' spikes are green with white horizontal stripes. Zebra rush is very easy to grow and will spread nicely if given plenty or room.
The variegation can be extremely strong and eye-catching in the Spring, and often fades to green by mid-summer. Fertilizing will sometimes enhance the amount of variegation and extend it further into the season, depending on what kind of fertilizer is used. Many variegated plants have a tendency to "green up" as the season progresses, as zebra rush does. Variegated plants with this habit can be influenced by the type of nitrogen used in the fertilizer formula-not the amount of nitrogen in the fertilizer as the type of fertilizer. Urea-based fertilizer enhances the variegation and encourages it to last longer. If the foliage turns green in summer, you can cut it back and apply a urea-based fertilizer to encourage a new flush of strong variegation. Nitrate based fertilizer tends to encourage the plant to turn green, making the variegation less intense and of shorter duration. This is why our fertilizer recommendation below is for Pondtabbs, not the slow release Aquascape fertilizer; Pondtabbs' nitrogen is over 2/3 urea and ammonia based with the remainder nitrate based, while the Aquascape Once-A-Year fertilizer's nitrogen source is nitrate based.
Zebra rush is a variegated type of bulrush and technically, zebra rush is more botanically accurate as Schoenoplectus lacustris susp, 'Zebrinus'. despite this, in the pond industry everyone uses Scirpus zebrinus as the botanic name (we can't imagine why!), and most of the time they just say zebra rush.
Hardiness Zone: 5 - 11
Planting Container: We recommend a 10" x 6" fabric pot to grow a regular sized plant, or a 12.5" x 7" or 15" x 6" fabric pot to grow a specimen sized plant. Click on any fabric pot link to read about why fabric pots work better than hard plastic pots!
Light Requirements: We recommend full sun to encourage variegation, except partial shade is best in hot desert climates
Height: Grows 4' to 6' - Spread: Running Spread
Water Depth: Moist to 6" (Maximum water depth is for mature bog plants)
FERTILIZING: For best health and growth, we recommend fertilizing regularly (unless using the plants in a plant filtration system!). Use Pondtabbs 20 count, 60 count, or 300 count for fast release. We don't recommend using slow release fertilizer in mid-summer or later in cold climates, as plants should run out of fertilizer at the end of the year to encourage dormancy in cold climates.
Plants are shipped bare root or in starter pots, and will require planting upon arrival. For in depth planting and care instructions visit our Planting and Care Instructions for Shallow Water and Bog Plants.
Zebra rush is likely to be cut back for shipping, as the stems are too tall and fragile to be shipped intact. It will have some lower stems, and a healthy rhizome and root system.
For information on using plants for pond filtration, please read our blog on this topic!
