ACORUS GRAMINEUS, form variegatus

by Ron Finlayson
From the July 1999 issue of "The Daphnian", Boston Aquarium Society
Aquarticles

From time to time most of us have come across this plant commonly called Japanese Rush at our neighborhood aquarium store. In most instances it is the non-variegated form.

I was looking for this plant a few years ago at different aquarium shops as the opportunity arose, when one day while at WalMart I came across a one gallon container of Acorus gramineus, variegatus being sold as a perennial. This was a sale item for only $2.00, so me being an inexpensive-type person, I purchased the container, which had a sizeable plant within. Although I must admit I was a little puzzled at the time, seeing what I thought was an aquarium/bog type plant being sold as a perennial plant for your garden, but at the price why not take the chance?

I took the plant home, unpotted it to bare root and rhizome, and proceeded to cut it up into roughly twenty plants which I potted up using soil, peat, chelated iron and plant tabs for fertilizer. I then took each container and placed it in water covering the pot anywhere from 2 to 6" and placed these in my cellar greenhouse for future use .

The mistake some people make is not realizing that Acorus is a true bog plant. If you buy it and plant it in your aquarium so it is completely submerged the plant will eventually die. You need to use this plant in a manner that allows it to get above the surface of the water. Once you do that there is little problem in maintaining it for a number of years. In the aquarium there are several ways to accomplish this: 1) fill the tank part way as you would for a paludarium, 2) install corner shelves using glass and aquarium silicone. I have done this in some tanks and it works well, or 3) you can just hang the plant in its container inside the tank at the proper level. These will all work, and by accommodating a bog plant such as Acorus or for that matter Hemigraphis colorta or Dracenae deremensis, you can add another level to your open aquarium by encouraging plant growth not only submersed but emersed. This makes it more like a water feature you would see in nature.

Remember now I live in NH, you know that cold place up north, and I purchased this Acorus as a perennial, zone hardy to 4. As such, I used many of these plants outside in my garden pond, planting them again 2 to 6" below the surface. They really do look like a rush in the pond. And the ones I left in to winter over (under the ice) did just fine with none the worst for wear. I may even plant some Acorus in my garden this year as was originally intended by the retailer.

So if you get the chance try Acorus. It is a lovely plant that has a multitude of uses in and out of water.