Tufts of narrow, arching leaves — some barely eight inches high, others striped down the centre with yellow — hold their colour through winter, while the flower spikes stay modest and never steal the show. Sedge (Carex) earns its place as an evergreen ground-covering grass; give it cool, moist soil and it will look good all year.
| Name | Carex |
|---|---|
| Family | Cyperaceae |
| Type | perennial, grass |
| Height | 1 ½ feet (50 cm) |
| Exposure | full sun or part sun |
| Soil | ordinary, rather moist |
| Foliage | evergreen |
| Flowering | midsummer to mid-autumn |
| Planting density | 7 to a square yard or meter |
Caring for this plant from planting to pruning will enable you to make it even more beautiful.
Indifferently, in fall or spring.
To produce a covering effect, provide about 7 plants to a square yard (1 m²).
Multiply through crown division in spring.
They don’t need any pruning.
You can remove faded inflorescences as they die away.
Typically, grasses adapt to drought by drying out. Carex is no exception, but it will truly thrive if you plant it in moist soil.
Garden centres stock a handful of sedges again and again, and they differ far more in height and leaf colour than in their needs. Use the table to match a clump to the spot you have in mind.
| Variety | Height | Foliage colour | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Prairie Fire’ | 18 in (45 cm) | Olive green with orange-flushed tips | Sunny borders and autumn pot displays |
| ‘Aurea’ (Bowles’s golden sedge) | 2 ft (60 cm) | Bright golden yellow, arching | Pond margins and permanently damp soil |
| ‘Bronze Form’ | 16 in (40 cm) | Coppery bronze, hair-fine | Gravel plantings and mixed containers |
| ‘Evergold’ | 12 in (30 cm) | Green with a broad creamy-yellow central stripe | Edging, pots and low ground cover |
| ‘Ice Dance’ | 12 in (30 cm) | Dark green with white margins | Spreading ground cover under shrubs |
| ‘Everillo’ (EverColor series) | 18 in (45 cm) | Lime green turning golden yellow | Containers and brightening shady corners |
Carex being the name of the family, a lot of different species are available in garden stores. Some are short and form clumps, like Oshima sedge, while others grow taller like C. spicata.
Sedge, which is the generic name used for several Carex species, is a particularly interesting grass because it stays beautiful all year round.
Its discrete flowering doesn’t overshadow its leafage that forms a beautiful persistent and resistant bunch.
You would best set it up in a moist spot, near a body of water or in cool soil.
It is easy to grow, and hardy, too, although most species wouldn’t survive extended freezing.
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These plants are often as wide as they are tall, so they must be spaced accordingly.
