Cyperus giganteus - Mexican Papyrus (Rare Hardy Variety) - EXCLUSIVE

A UK first - a hardy Papyrus Grass that can stay outside all year long!

The Mexican Papyrus is less well-known than its African cousin the standard Papyrus Grass, but looks similar. It is found in wet forests and swamps across Central and South America, from Mexico and the Caribbean through Venezuela, Brazil, and down to Argentina. It consists of the same sturdy, fleshy, mid-green stems, growing to a height of well over a metre, topped with 'feather duster' leaf heads and followed by seed clusters.

UK gardeners have mostly ignored this species, because it has traditionally been considered a frost-tender plant, in the same way as the African one. And while the African species is valued for its dramatic tropical appearance and is sold by many British nurseries for the garden pond, its appeal is limited because it has to be brought indoors in cold weather. But the fact that the Mexican Papyrus grows in parts of Argentina that experience extremely cold weather always suggested to us that there must be strains of the species that can cope with this. So when a friend in a cold area of Argentina collected and sent us some local seeds of this plant several years ago, we were excited. We finally managed to germinate them, and have now grown the resulting plant for many seasons. We can confirm that it grows easily and survives our winter with no problems, provided that the crown is below the water line and does not freeze solid. In 2010 we recorded -12°C here at the nursery, and the plant survived this perfectly. 

We are the only people in the UK or Europe (and as far as we know, the US) to produce this hardy strain of this plant. We have given it to two nurseries based in different parts of Europe, to allow gardeners on the continent and in Northern Ireland to buy it, and to reduce the chance that it will be lost to cultivation. You can also see it at Kew Gardens, since we have given it to them as well.