![]() These plants sell out quickly because after people grow them for one season they often list King Tut on their must-grow list as well. Secondly, be sure to buy all you want as soon as you see them, usually in the Proven Winners section of your garden center. Yes, they are also nice plants and have their place, but they in no way have the Drama! that King Tut possesses in spades. First, the smaller, even more dwarf varieties such as Baby Tut aren’t the same. Here’s a couple of other things you should know about King Tut. ![]() I can’t say that the plant is thrilled about this location, but it lives and springs back to good growth once it’s given warm temperatures and fertilizer again in May. I frequently over-winter my large pots of King Tut in my attached but unheated garage where the temperatures don’t go much below 38 in the winter time. (Believe it or not, King Tut is actually a dwarf variety of Cyperus papyrus, which grows to 15 feet in its native habitat.) Since the flowers are on long, hair-like strands that form round, fine heads, the plant has a whimsical but modern appearance that blends in with just about any other annual flower and foliage. It provides great height but isn’t heavy or domineering as some larger growing plants would be. Where temperatures get colder than 35 degrees F, the plants should be treated as annuals. King Tut is an evergreen or neutral grass. It is best to keep the soil moist, but once established King Tut has proven to be surprisingly tolerant of dry conditions. If you have very large containers King Tut is a must for the center of a mixed arrangement. King Tut will also do well when planted in normal garden beds. But I have planted King Tut papyrus in the ground in gardens that got my usual once-a-week-to-every-ten-days-soakings and it did just fine…it grew just a bit smaller, perhaps, but it was still almost 5 feet tall, so no complaints from me or the plant. People often associate this rush with wet areas, and it can indeed grow on the edges of a water garden. In places where the winter temperatures don’t go below freezing this plant is a perennial, but in the northeast where I live we grow it as an annual. Over the next few weeks I’ll feature many of these plants and today I’m starting with one of the tallest annuals I grow, King Tut Papyrus.Ĭyperus papyrus King Tut looks like a grass but it’s really a rush or sedge. As an aquatic plant, it requires a suitable water garden environment and will benefit from special planting and ongoing care practices consult one of our in. There are other plants, however, that I’ve used before and they remain on my must-grow list. ![]() On this list are the names of new introductions and plants that have been around quite awhile but are new to my heart because I’m always excited about trying something different. Your 1-gallon spring planted container will look as though you used a 10-gallon specimen in the fall.In the winter I start planning what will go into my flowerbeds and containers in the coming growing season. They perform beyond expectations no matter where they are planted, including water gardens. These grasses thrive in full sun to part shade, sloppy wet or simply fertile soil. Prince Tut is also award-winning, but much shorter, reaching 30 inches tall with a 36-inch spread, but offers the same graceful habit. It grows really quickly once it starts to grow, but can take 30 + days to. At Callaway Gardens they used SunPatiens and large, dark, purple, majestic-sized Alocasia elephant ears. It has no significant negative characteristics. Cyperus Papyrus can be grown in containers, but its primarily an aquatic plant. In Columbus we grew them in combination with Compact Electric Orange SunPatiens and the Red Abyssinian banana. Remember Moses being rescued in the bulrushes? That is papyrus. ![]() ![]() They gracefully arch over and give a tufted or hairy appearance with their umbrellas. It will be cold hardy in zones 9 and warmer, so if you live in these zones you can expect it to get happy and show its aggressive side if grown in the landscape.Ĭompared to those growing along the Nile River, the King Tut is a dwarf in some aspects, reaching only 4 to 6 feet. Baby Tut is a dwarf compact selection of Cyperus involucratus reaching 24 inches wide. Believe me when I say they are worth every penny. The crown of the plant should never be covered in water and in fact both. This means if you live in an area that freezes, you will grow it as an annual like you do so many other ornamental grasses. The plant can be planted in pots, along the waters edge of a pond, or even in a pond. King Tut and Prince Tut are both Cyperus papyrus and cold hardy in zones 10 and warmer. ![]()
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