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Plant profile · Austin & Hill Country

Common Rush

Juncus effusus
native · Central Texas

Common Rush is a grass native to Central Texas that grows 5 ft tall. It wants full sun and medium water, and handles clay soil. Blooms brown in summer. Good for birds.

Wet ground only. A wetland plant: it needs standing water or saturated soil — a pond edge, creek bank or rain garden, not a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Common Rush against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

The facts

5 sources
Type
Grass
Sun
Full sun (6–8 hrs of direct sun)
Water
Medium
Height
About 5 ft
Bloom
Summer · brown
Foliage
Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil
Takes clay
Deer
Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth
Wildlife
Supports birds

Where it grows

60 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.