Green Bulrush vs Rough Fescue - TreeTime.ca

Green Bulrush vs Rough Fescue

Scirpus pallidus

Festuca campestris

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Green Bulrush
Rough Fescue

Green Bulrush is a common waterside plant, suitable for erosion control and land reclamation. Despite this, Green Bulrush is very drought resistant once established. Bulrushes can cool nearby areas on hot days.

Unlike many of the other waterside plants available, Green Bulrush does not attract wildlife. This makes it a good choice for surrounding residential water sources.

Green Bulrush is topped with spiky balls of florets, green in the spring and fading to brown in the fall.

Rough Fescue is a native perennial bunchgrass valued for its tall, dense clumps and long-lived growth. Adapted to cold climates and nutrient-poor soils, it is a defining species of northern prairie and montane grasslands. In western Canada and the northern Rocky Mountains, Rough Fescue is considered a keystone species because it shapes plant communities, stabilizes soils, and supports ecosystem resilience.

It is a cool-season grass, growing most actively in spring and fall and slowing during the heat of summer. Rough Fescue is highly regarded as forage for wildlife and livestock, with elk, deer, and other grazing animals favoring it. Taller than many other fescue species, it is well-suited to prairie restoration, erosion control, and naturalization projects where it supports both biodiversity and long-term ecosystem health.

Green Bulrush Quick Facts

Rough Fescue Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - medium
Suckering: medium


Foliage: long thin whitish green
Flowers: green spiked clusters
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: cloaked bulrush, pale bulrush, pale-green bulrush
Other Names: mountain rough fescue, prairie fescue