Umbrella palm, Cyperus Alternifolius Plant
The houseplants Cyperus Papyrus and Cyperus Alternifolius are commonly known as Umbrella Grass, Umbrella Plant, Umbrella Papyrus, Umbrella Sedge or the Umbrella Palm. The Umbrella element of its various names comes from the leaflets that grow on top of the tall stems which (wait for it) look like the spokes of an Umbrella, giving an overall attractive and novel appearance. With age the leaves and stems eventually form a grass-like clump, and this look is distinctly different to the other commonly grown Umbrella Plant i.e. Schefflera. In order to avoid confusion we're going to use Umbrella Grass as its primary name in our article, but all of the above names are equally valid. This houseplant is very unique and its the only plant we've written about to date which can not (99% of the time) be killed by overwatering.
Care Tips for Umbrella palm
▪︎Light -: Umbrella Grass can be grown equally well in full sun, bright light, light shade or medium shade. It's very adaptable and accommodating for the most part. If things are too dark it will tell you by producing very few new shoots or stems.
▪︎Watering -: Can you overwater a Cyperus plant? Not really is the answer. Very simply you must provide a high level of water saturation at all times to keep your Umbrella Grass healthy and lush looking, so do try to keep the drip tray (or whatever the pot is sitting in) topped up at all times.
▪︎Temperature -: This is a plant that outdoors is quite hardy and this is mirrored indoors. A temperature range between 10°C / 50°F to 22°C / 72°F will be perfect. Cooler temperatures down to around 4°C / 39°F are accepted for short periods. Be careful if things get too warm as this will cause a rapid drying of the soil resulting in more frequent watering.
▪︎Repotting -: You should look to repot the your Cyperus into a bigger pot using a high loam containing potting medium whenever it fills the current container completely and starts to become pot bound and this will usually end up being every year.