As the sedge family’s most popular member, it thrives in most of the world and can be seen hanging near water or resting in the shade.
Carex: “True Sedge”
To spot a sedge, just remember the rhyme: “Sedges have edges and rushes are round, but grasses have nodes from their tips to the ground.” The “edges” refer to sedge stems, which are triangular in cross section.
Carex pansa is often used as a lawn replacement and can look lush, particularly at dusk. That will guide your horticultural care.
Photograph by Drew Kelly, courtesy of Third Nature Studio.
Carex evergold ambles alongside a stepping stone path.
Photograph by Heidi Bertish.
Photograph courtesy of Greenlee and Associates.
European Meadow Sedge (C. remota) provides a durable groundcover despite its fine-textured appearance.
Some Carex species require damp or wet conditions while others are relatively drought-tolerant. Carex appalachica, above, is native to woodlands in the eastern United States.
Photograph courtesy of Hoffman Nursery.
Carex testacea ‘Prairie Fire’ gets its game on with super color and texture contrast alongside a gravel path. New Zealand sedges can usually take more sun and offer beautiful foliage colors, ranging from carmel to deep red-bronze.
Photograph courtesy of Hoffman Nursery.
Carex texensis and Carex remota blend with other perennials in this meadow garden at Hess Winery in Napa, California, designed by John Greenlee. Monocultures are rarely seen in nature, so mixing it up with sedges makes sense.
Cheat Sheet
Photograph courtesy of Greenlee and Associates.
Keep It Alive
Photograph by Meredith Swinehart.
Carex comans ‘Amazon Mist’ grows in a small, neat clump, making it perfect for pairing in containers. It has thin, pale green and silver blades, giving it a shimmery look.
A mix of Carex—including ‘Red Rooster,’ ‘Bronzier,’ and ‘Buffalo Gold’—along with Juncus ‘Blue Arrows’ and Isolepsis ‘Live Wire’ burst from these fall planters.
Photographs courtesy of Ball Horticultural.
Photograph courtesy of Hoffman Nursery.
Carex morrowii ‘Ice Ballet’ pops in the landscape, particularly in the shade.
Photograph courtesy of Hoffman Nursery.
Carex grayi ‘Gray’s Sedge’ produces unique, pale green seed heads that resemble three-dimensional, one-inch stars.
Photograph courtesy of Hoffman Nursery.
Carex bicknellii develops copper colored, oval seedheads. Sedges bloom early in spring, providing wildlife their first native grass meals of the season.