Blue rush 'Blue Arrows'
Juncus inflexus 'Blue Arrows' · Juncaceae
Stiff, perfectly upright, blue-grey stems like a quiver of arrows. It grows in wet soil, and tolerates drought better than other rushes.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around blue rush 'Blue Arrows'
The planner designed this bed around blue rush 'Blue Arrows' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) contemporary bed in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why blue rush 'Blue Arrows' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Blue rush 'Blue Arrows' × 2, blue-green leaves
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 8, pink
- 3 Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet' × 4, lavender
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 Leadplant × 1, purple
- 6 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 7 Red spider lily × 12, red
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does leadplant.
Why here
- In the middle. At 3 ft it is seen over bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' (8 in) in front of it.
- 2 plants in 2 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
- Fine leaf against bold. Stiff goldenrod is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 17 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as a contemporary bed: 31 of the 31 plants that stand in groups (100%) are set out in a pattern with their neighbours: a straight row, a triangle, or five like the five on a dice. The scheme leans cool (pink, lavender and purple) and uses yellow and red for warmth, with white to calm things between them. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' and Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet' finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where blue rush 'Blue Arrows' goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
A blue vertical accent for places too wet for blue oat grass. Its rigid lines contrast with rounded and floating leaves at the water's edge.
- A strong vertical for wet or ordinary soil
- Rain gardens
- Containers
What to plant with blue rush 'Blue Arrows'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Cardinal flower: adds the flowers, late July to mid September.
- Swamp milkweed: adds the flowers, early July to early August; happy in the same moist soil.
- Blue flag iris: adds the flowers, late May to late June.
Questions about blue rush 'Blue Arrows'
Does blue rush 'Blue Arrows' need sun or shade?
Blue rush 'Blue Arrows' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does blue rush 'Blue Arrows' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should blue rush 'Blue Arrows' be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many blue rush 'Blue Arrows' plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used two in two groups.
Is blue rush 'Blue Arrows' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like blue rush 'Blue Arrows'?
Blue rush 'Blue Arrows' comes from Temperate Europe, Asia, Africa and Micronesia. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Soft rush: the same job in a bed; 8 in wider, wants wet soil.
- Blazing star: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers mid July to mid August, not evergreen.
- Great blue lobelia: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early August to mid September, medium leaves, not fine.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat blue rush 'Blue Arrows'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What does blue rush 'Blue Arrows' look like in winter?
Blue rush 'Blue Arrows' keeps its blue-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
More Juncus
- Corkscrew rush Juncus effusus 'Spiralis'
- Soft rush Juncus effusus
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Juncaceae
- Comes from
- Temperate Europe, Asia, Africa and Micronesia
- Stands up to
- Wet soil
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.