Mat Rush Lomandra confertifolia Little Pal

Little Pal is one of the fine-leaved Lomandra confertifolia mat rushes, building a soft hemispherical tuft of narrow strappy blades that move in the slightest breeze, a far more delicate texture than the broad-leaved longifolia selections it usually sits beside on a nursery bench. Small cream flower spikes sit down inside the foliage in spring and carry a light scent on a warm evening. It is used for mass planting, borders and erosion control, where the fibrous root mass genuinely holds soil on batters and swale edges.

Litter in the crown is what kills it

It takes full sun to part shade, needs little water once established, and grows at a moderate rate on soils from sand to clay loam provided they drain. Frost is not a problem through temperate districts. The failure mode is specific to fine-leaved lomandras and it catches people out: the dense tuft traps fallen leaf litter, and through a humid summer that trapped material composts down in the crown and rots the centre of the plant out, leaving a dead middle ringed by living leaves. Under deciduous trees or below a gutter line it is at its worst. Comb or rake the litter out of the clumps rather than leaving it there, and do not pile mulch over the crowns when the bed is topped up. The other practical matter is spacing. Plant at roughly five to seven per square metre so the tufts knit into a continuous mass, because set further apart the bed reads as scattered clumps of grass for years while weeds fill the gaps. Leave the flower spikes on when they come, since the scent carries on a warm evening and the spent stems vanish inside the foliage anyway.

Fine mat rush against the other strappy natives

Common tussock grass is the softer, blue-grey option for a meadow effect and for ground that sits wet in winter, though it needs a hard cut back every second or third year where Little Pal can go longer between resets. Clarity Blue flax lily is stiffer, more upright and blue-grey, made for carpark islands and hot verges where a strong contrast against concrete is wanted. Choose Little Pal where the planting sits close to people, in a garden bed or along a path, and the fine texture and movement will actually be seen. Where the site is a sand-blown coastal frontage rather than a garden, neither is the answer and knobby club rush is the tougher specification. More in mat rush.

Resetting a planting every few years

Cut back hard to about a hand span above the crown every few years in late winter, taking the whole planting at once so it comes back evenly, and clear the debris away afterwards. Annual trimming is not needed, and cutting into the woody base of a very old clump is better avoided, so replace those rather than fighting them. Feeding is light work, with a low-phosphorus native fertiliser in early spring, particularly after a hard cut back. Watch for scale in still humid positions and clear built-up litter out of the crowns each autumn.

Choosing a size

This plant is supplied in one size, 140mm, at $17.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to low water gardens.