Snowy woodrush
Luzula nivea · Juncaceae
Loose tufts of dark green leaves fringed with white hairs, and clusters of fluffy, snow-white flowers on slender stems in early summer.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around snowy woodrush
The planner designed this bed around snowy woodrush when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why snowy woodrush stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Snowy woodrush × 7, white
- 2 Green-and-gold × 8, yellow
- 3 Dwarf lady's mantle × 9, green
- 4 Blue wood aster × 3, lavender
- 5 Japanese meadowsweet × 3, pink
- 6 Inkberry 'Gem Box' × 1, dark green leaves
- 7 Snowdrop × 7, white
- 8 Double snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- Part of the matrix. The low fabric of grasses and groundcovers that the taller plants come up through.
- The only dense clusters. The others are daisies, airy sprays, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does inkberry 'Gem Box'.
Why here
- In the middle. At 18 in it is the step between dwarf lady's mantle (8 in) in front and inkberry 'Gem Box' (2½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 7 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
- Fine leaf against bold. Japanese meadowsweet is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With green-and-gold and dwarf lady's mantle in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 41% of the planted ground. The flowering is at its height from late May, with 3 kinds out together. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 42% of the visual weight and the right half 58%.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 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 snowy woodrush goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
One of very few grass-like plants with showy flowers in shade. The white tufts light up a woodland path, and the leaves are evergreen.
- White flowers in shade
- Woodland edging
- Evergreen groundcover under shrubs
What to plant with snowy woodrush
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Lady fern: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Astilbe: in flower together for two weeks, from late June; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about snowy woodrush
Does snowy woodrush need sun or shade?
Snowy woodrush grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does snowy woodrush grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does snowy woodrush flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early June to early July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to late June |
| Zone 9 | Early May to mid June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should snowy woodrush be planted?
16 in (40 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 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many snowy woodrush plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used seven in one group.
Is there a native plant like snowy woodrush?
Snowy woodrush is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Seersucker sedge: the same job in a bed; 6 in shorter, 4 in narrower.
- Wavy hair grass: the same job in a bed; 6 in narrower, flowers early June to late July.
- Fringed bleeding heart: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early May to late August, not evergreen.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after snowy woodrush?
Snowy woodrush is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Astilbe: from late June to mid July, 24 in tall (a recorded partner).
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
What does snowy woodrush look like in winter?
Snowy woodrush keeps its dark 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 Luzula
- Greater woodrush Luzula sylvatica
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; dense clusters; white, cream
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Juncaceae
Checked against VASCAN (plants of Canada). 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.