I was not looking for a new plant when, while visiting friends John and Tamara one jumped out and grabbed not only my attention but also my imagination. Located on the edge of John’s Koi pond where it added not only texture but also provided habitat and broke up the starkness of the pond was an umbrella plant.
The first time I saw this strange and interesting plant I was intrigued, and began asking questions. I learned that the umbrella plant (Cyperus alernifoilus) likes wet feet and in fact will take over a pond if left to its own devices. It does well as long as it is planted in rich soil that remains moist or boggy. Umbrella plants die back in the cold of winter but reemerge in the spring adding greenery and an architectural element to the landscape. Some gardeners over-winter umbrella plant as house plants. I have not done this and mine has come back every year for the past 10 years.
My umbrella plant is located in a barrel next to a fountain bordering a patio. There it can be watered easily and the dead and damaged plants and stems can be pruned back as needed.
Umbrella plants are members of the massive Sedge family. Unlike the true grasses, umbrella plant have solid stems which are three sided. They also have narrow leaves which spread out like the ribs of an umbrella, thus the name.
The leaves of the umbrella plant sit atop a narrow green stem which grows to be between two and four feet tall. The plants will spread as far as the moisture allows. The flowers are unremarkable but interesting. They grow in the center of the leaves in green and brown clusters.
One of my favorite things about the umbrella plant is its use in floral arrangements. Because of its narrow stiff stem and the rib-like leaves at the top of the stem it lends itself to different and surprising elements in floral design. The leaves can be cut into various shapes and sizes. Since the leaves measure eight to ten inches across they can be used naturally, or I have even cut them as small as two inches in diameter to fit with some smaller arrangements. I have made sculptural arrangements using only umbrella plant and have also incorporated them into a combination of floral elements. It all works.
You might want to add an umbrella plant to your landscape if you want to add texture, interest, an architectural element, enhance water features, provide winter house plants and add beauty and design to your floral arrangements. I hope you are as amazed by this wonderful plant as I am. It really is a keeper.
The Red Bluff Garden Club Inc. is a member of the Cascade District Garden Club, California Garden Clubs Inc., Pacific Regional Garden Clubs, and National Garden Clubs, Inc.
