Eleocharis (hairgrass)

[nmonks]

My local garden centre has big pots of Eleocharis acicularia on sale for 4.50 GBP. Each pot is about 8 cm square (about 3 inches square), and the plants are green and very healthy-looking. Having just forked out several pounds on some scrappy little things from a mail-order aquarium plant place, I'm wondering if I these pots of Eleocharis might not have done just as well. Each of these pots must contain hundreds of individual Eleocharis plants, if the 25 plants I bought mail-order are anything to go by.

Are there different varieties of this plant? Is the one sold for temperate zone ponds different to the one sold as a tropical aquarium plant?

Cheers,

Neale

 

[George Farmer]

Hi Neale

I've not heard of Eleocharis acicularia, are you sure it wasn't acicularis?

I'd certainly go for it at £4.50.

There are over 100 species of Eleocharis BTW.

 

[nmonks]

Quite possibly!

The plants are potted in soil, so I'm assuming I'll have to take them out of that. Might be a fun experiment. On the label with the plants, it did say suitable for planting with the roots in water and the leaves out, and also under the water, to a depth of 40 cm or something. I'll double check.

The leaves were a lovely rich grass green, and springy to the touch, and totally unlike the straw-like things usually sold as aquarium plants. Presumably what they look like grown emerse rather than submersed.

Cheers,

Neale

I've not heard of Eleocharis acicularia, are you sure it wasn't acicularis?

 

[RYO]

Found this if it any help.
http/species.fishindex.com/plant_69.html