Weird grass growing with Sarracenia

[kenny_planter]

I was doing a little cleaning and repotting my Sarracenia and saw this. Last year when I noticed this growing I thought it was grass so I cut it but it keeps coming back. It looks like onions. I don't know what it is and if it's bad. Any ideas??

 

[SubRosa]

Could be a rush of the genus Scirpus.

 

[Steve Booth]

It could also be one of the many sedge grasses, whatever it is it will out compete the Sarracenia, while you have it out the pot pull the roots out and get rid, they are very invasive and deep rooted.

Cheers
Steve

 

[pearldiver]

Is it sharp at the tips? I have something similar, that has gotten quite large.

 

[dozer1028]

Horse Tail ??

 

[Whimgrinder]

It's probably a Sedge. Get rid of it ASAP and don't let it get a foothold in your Sarracenia. It's very invasive and hard to extract once established. Trust me, you do not want this in your pots.

 

[kenny_planter]

Thank you all!! I figured it wasn't good.

-happy growing

 

[theplantman]

Juncus, not a sedge (a rush instead). Sedge stems are 3-sided; juncus is cylindrical. Probably J. effusus, but honestly it's almost impossible to ID them to species without inflorescences (and even then a nightmare!).

Paul's caution concerning letting it spread is 100% accurate. Seeds are tinier than Drosera and you will never extract it from your pots without uprooting your plants. The roots are tenacious.

My secret strategy: take scissors and prune the top of the plant completely off. Do not leave rhizome pieces. If you get all the rush rhizome, the roots will die and you don't have to worry about it resprouting. No soil disturbance either. Good luck. At the very least, clip it back if you see it or any others make inflorescences this summer.

 

[kenny_planter]

Thank you! Do you know how it was introduced to my pot? Because I don't really know how that started to grow

 

[kulamauiman]

Thank you! Do you know how it was introduced to my pot? Because I don't really know how that started to grow

Common with sphagnum. Will frequently sprout from lfs.

 

[kenny_planter]

Yeah I noticed that too in some of my Nepenthes pots. I pull those out as well. I wonder if those kinds of grass grow in their natural habitat.

 

[theplantman]

Rushes and sedges are common companions at Sarracenia sites. That's not saying much, because they're some of the most botanically diverse habitats in the southeast. High endemism rates, too.