Love curls, Juncus effusus 'Spiralis' - care of corkscrew grass

The love lock is a popular plant that is often kept in the apartment due to the twisted stalks. However, the sweet grass is a marsh plant that is ideal for keeping at the garden pond. The hardy and robust love curls are also easy to care for and sometimes have to be kept in check due to their urge to grow. Except for its rapid spread, it is unproblematic even for beginners to maintain the corkscrew rasp.

Characteristics

• botanical name: Juncus effusus 'Spiralis'
• Synonyms: Juncus effusus f. spiralis, Scirpus lacustris 'Spiralis'
• Genus: Rushes (Juncus)
• belongs to the plant family of the rush family (Juncaceae)
• Trivial names: corkscrew rush, corkscrew grass, corkscrew rush
• robust, vigorous marsh plant, evergreen
• Height: 40 - 50 cm
• Leaves: twisted stalks growing vertically and horizontally
• Blossom: inconspicuous yellow-green to light brown loosely arranged panicles
• Flowering period: June to September
• Origin: moderate latitudes of the northern hemisphere, probably Japan
• hardy
• not lime tolerant
• is less often confused with the Baltic bulrush (Juncus balticus)
• forms rhizomes as persistence organs

Location

The location is an important part of maintenance, because this is the only way for the corkscrew grass to feel comfortable:

• Light requirement: bright to sunny
• Midday sun okay after getting used to it
• Penumbra is tolerated for a short time
• Indoor plants at a constant 20 ° C
• Drafts and wind are tolerated

If you choose love curls as a houseplant, all rooms that have plenty of sun and are warm enough are ideal:

• Winter gardens
• living room
• Workspace
• Kitchens with windows
• Bathrooms with windows

South-facing windows are preferred. If you choose to keep it outdoors, the love lock will be planted in close proximity to a pond. This location corresponds to the natural habitat of the marsh plant, which likes it extremely moist.

Buy preferred potted plants

If you decide to buy love curls, there are two important things to look out for:

• dry substrate
• Mould

Dry substrate is particularly bad for the grass and in many cases it is not worth buying one. Mold, on the other hand, can easily be removed by repotting as soon as the roots are not damaged. When buying, therefore, look for a strong plant with twisted stalks and not slack.

Substrate

When it comes to the substrate, it depends on whether you choose the pond or indoor culture. The following substrate is recommended for the corkscrew grass in pond culture:

• Pond soil
• 30% additives of mineral origin
• not too nutritious

For indoor culture, you can either use a Seramis substrate or classic soil. An overview of soil as a substrate:

• high quality potting soil
• small amount of peat is desirable
• angry
• lime-free
• nutritious

If you choose Seramis as a substrate, there must be a permanent water level of at least five centimeters. Regularly remove the roots sticking out of the pot as they are prone to disease as they become insufficiently hydrated and die off.

plants

If you have decided on pond culture, you should definitely use a fairly large plant basket. Since the corkscrew grass can double in diameter within a year, you are facing a true superiority of the grass within a few years without limitation. In addition, the love lock can settle in a larger vessel in a more relaxed manner and does not suffer from a lack of space. The location may be as sunny as possible and directly on the edge of the pond, the swamp zone. It is planted at least ten centimeters deep and the plant basket must first be equipped with a garden fleece.

Tip: Group planting is particularly good for love locks. Up to five pieces of the plant in one place look appealing and harmonious in the garden.

Repot

Repotting is an important part of maintenance, especially if you've got yourself a new specimen of corkscrew rush. Because of their rapid growth, it is necessary to repot them every or two years. So check every spring to see how deeply rooted the earth is. This also applies to the pond culture in order to offer this fresh soil. When repotting, you just need to pay attention to the following points:

• Use a larger vessel
• use fresh substrate
• Check roots before potting
• Remove anything that has dried up or rotted
• use clean scissors for this

You don't need anything else for repotting. Even a drainage layer is not necessary, as the plant prefers waterlogging.

care

If the repotting or planting is done and the right location has been chosen, you can look forward to an easy-care plant. Once the sweet grass has established itself, all you have to do is add enough water over the long term and let the plant thrive in a relaxed manner.

to water

When watering the love curls, you have to be careful not to water too little, as the plant needs a lot of moisture. It is a marsh plant that can never run out of water. Watering is not necessary if the plant has been planted at least ten centimeters deep in the garden, as it connects directly to a pond. Indoor plants, however, need more attention:

• pour as much as possible
• 2 - 3 cm of water in the planter is ideal
• pour more often when it is hot
• do not use lime water
• Permanently wet substrate desirable

It is best to use rainwater, filtered or stale water for the Juncus effusus 'Spiralis'. Lime is not good for the crop and should be avoided as much as possible. The sweet grasses are particularly enjoyable if you water them with a little pond water in between, as this has sufficient nutrients and a pleasant composition. Always check whether there is enough water in the coaster, because the love lock will only tolerate a dry substrate for a short time.

Fertilize

Compared to other plants, the corkscrew grass does not have to be fertilized if the location for the plant is near the pond. The reason: otherwise the fertilizer would pass into the pond water and promote the formation of algae. The pond soil and the water are already supplied with sufficient nutrients, so they do not need any fertilizers. However, if you are keeping your copy of the love curls as a houseplant, fertilizing is important. Proceed as follows:

• Period: April to September
• Fertilizer rhythm depends on the fertilizer
• liquid green plant fertilizer: once a month
• Fertilizer stick: 6 to 8 weeks

When using the fertilizers, you must ensure that they are always administered in half the concentration. Simply stick the fertilizer sticks into the ground while the green plant fertilizer is administered via the irrigation water so that the substrate does not burn. Juncus effusus does not need any other nutrient additions.

Cut

A cut is not necessary for the love curls, but it has a positive effect on the vitality of the plant, especially after a harsh winter. When pruning after winter, around April, do the following:

1. Use sharp, disinfected scissors to remove the dead stalks of the plant. If most of the stalks have dried up, cut back the entire plant.
2. If you have planted your love lock near the pond, you should trim the plant back to about ten centimeters to the bottom. This ensures a surge in growth in the new year.

It can happen that the bulrush sprouts an upright stalk that does not turn over the year. This must be removed as soon as possible, because this is the original wild form of the plant. The love curls are cultivars of the flutter rush, which has straight stalks and it is possible that the plant will get straight stalks again. To counteract this, straight, upright shoots are always removed. In addition, you should never take pruning measures in autumn, as the stalks are the ideal winter protection for specimens kept in the garden. House plants can be cut all year round as soon as dried-up stalks can be seen.

Overwinter

The best thing about the love curls: specimens outdoors do not need winter protection. The plants can easily withstand the freezing cold, even on the garden pond, and their stalks counteract the dreary gray of winter. You don't even have to water them, as they have enough water available and fertilizing is unnecessary anyway. With indoor plants, however, you have to adjust the care a little so that the plants are still doing well over the winter:

• choose a very bright location
• Conservatories and south-facing windows are well suited
• cooler temperatures than over the summer
• water more often
• spray regularly with water

The most important thing is to keep the location of the corkscrew grass moist. If it is too dry, the plant is susceptible to spider mites and dies very quickly. If it is still too warm, the sweetgrass can die within a short time. Alternatively, you can set up an automatic humidifier next to the love lock so that it receives sufficient moisture and does not stand too dry.

Tip: If it gets very dark in your home in winter, you should definitely consider buying a plant lamp. Since love curls are extremely in need of light, the lamps help to satisfy this hunger.

Multiply

You can easily propagate love locks across multiple ways. On the one hand, there is sharing, which has proven to be the simpler and more effective variant of sweet grass. But you have to note that the grasses do not tolerate the division so well and lose much of their fullness. Proceed as follows:

• Time: spring
• Pot or dig up the plant
• Halve the rhizome with a clean, sharp spade
• Place parts in planters or directly in the garden

With this method, make absolutely sure not to use a dirty spade, otherwise the parts will inevitably become infected. It takes a few months, sometimes years for the love lock to look full and appealing again after it has been split. Propagation via seeds is also possible, but not always successful. You simply collect the seeds directly from the plant over the summer:

• immediately after collection
• Store seeds moist for 2 to 4 weeks at 20 ° C
• then sow in fresh substrate
• Store pots for 6 weeks at -3 ° C to 3 ° C (cold germs)
• then relocate at room temperature

Depending on the intensity of the cold stimulus, the seedlings sprout within three weeks and can be cared for like adult plants over time.

Tip: Alternatively, you can buy seeds from specialist dealers. Be careful not to lose these as they are very fine.

Diseases and pests

The corkscrew rush is an extremely robust plant that is not susceptible to disease or pests, as long as the marsh plant is kept outdoors. With indoor plants, however, problems can arise because they are not as resistant in pots. Typical problems include:

• mildew
• Mould

Powdery mildew usually occurs when other nearby plants are infected and when the humidity is too high, it is transmitted to the Juncus effusus. Despite the required amount of water, the location of the plant should never assume tropical features, otherwise problems will quickly arise. Mold is a common problem that affects the substrate rather than the plant itself. As soon as you notice mold on the substrate, you should repot immediately to eliminate the problem. For this reason, it is advisable to choose pond soil for keeping the bucket, as this does not go moldy or only in exceptional cases.

Tip: Spider mites rarely appear on the love lock, as the marsh plant is never too dry. However, as soon as you spot the thin threads of the mites, you should check to see if it is your Juncus effusus 'Spiralis' is not too dry and appropriate measures, e.g. spraying or watering, use.