Juncus inflexus Blue Dart

Juncus inflexus 'Blue Dart', sometimes marketed as Juncus tenuis 'Blue Dart', is a variety of rush with bluish foliage. It is more decorative than that of the classic gardeners' rush. It is a perennial for ponds, banks, and wetlands. It also adapts to ordinary soils that never completely dry out. It forms clumps of upright stems with a clean design, which are evergreen in mild winters. This medium-sized rush produces brownish-red loose spikelets in the heart of summer. Essential at the edge of water points where it adds verticality to aquatic scenes, it also makes a beautiful plant for decorating contemporary patios and balconies. 

Juncus inflexus is a rhizomatous, stoloniferous perennial plant with persistent stems and semi-evergreen foliage, with a distinctly bristly habit. It belongs to the Juncaceae family and is native to Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, and Central Asia. 'Blue Dart' will reach about 45cm (18in) in height, spreading with its rhizomes over a potentially large area. This variety has bluish to greenish-blue, simple, alternate leaves. They are linear with an entire margin and parallel veins. Flowering occurs from June to August. The spike-like flowers are brown in colour.

In nature, rushes grow at the edge of damp ditches in stagnant, shallow water. Juncus inflexus 'Blue Dart' should be planted at a depth of 20cm (8in), with its base able to be submerged up to 10cm (4in). Clean it in autumn by cutting back the foliage to 10cm (4in). 

It can be used as an evaporative plant at the edge of and in stagnant waters in marshy to wet gardens. To prevent it from becoming too invasive, it can be planted in containers submerged in ponds. This rush is suitable for use in coastal areas. It can be used to maintain banks or, in a more decorative way, in aquatic containers on a patio. 

This plant was used before candles or torches for lighting: it was dipped in vegetable or animal fat and then allowed to harden.