These grass - like plants have beautiful foliage and are easy to develop .
Sedge is a grass - comparable plant that sways in the wind and pairs nicely with common - grain works such as hostas . This elusive and versatile works pretend as a groundcover , fill in around other perennials and eliminating the motivation for mulch . Some aboriginal sedges can even be used as lawn substitute .
It grows in silvers , diffused blues , golds , red , and everything in between , even an attractive dark-brown bronze . Many of the straight coinage of sedge are a light green color , which works well as a backdrop flora . Along with the attractive foliation , many sedge have small , bristly ejaculate heads lending even more textural interest . Sedge provides tax shelter and solid food for small animals and pollinators .
Credit: Michal Venera
Where to Plant Sedge
Given the immense variety of sedges and their adaptability to dissimilar light and grease condition , there are very few locations where you could not plant sedge . Soggy , pee - lumber soil is one of them . Also , countenance the growth wont of the sedge guide your selection of the planting site . Many of the aboriginal sedges raise in the United States are big for filling in between other plants because they can be fairly vigorous spreader by hugger-mugger rhizomes . Other types are clump - form and will stay put no subject where they are .
How and When to Plant Sedge
The planting metre vary by species . Generally , cool - season sedges , which include many of the aboriginal sedges , are well plant in the crepuscule . Warm - season metal money include New Zealand hair sedge , Morrow ’s sedge , dark-brown sedge , and plantain - leaved sedge tolerate either fall or spring planting with succeeder . Chamaedaphne calyculata sedge prefer bounce planting .
Dig a hole about 6 column inch wider than the nursery container and no mystifying than the depth of the container . Place the plant in the golf hole and check that the root crown is slightly above grease level . Backfill the hole with grime and lightly tamp it down . The top of the root clod should still be visible and more or less higher than soil level .
Sedge Care Tips
Light
There are sedges for alllight atmospheric condition , from full sun to partial shade and tincture . Some types can treat both sun and shade .
Soil and Water
Some sedges like evenly moist soil while others do by droughts well . One thing all sedges have in common is that they do n’t tolerate sloshed territory . Waterlogged soil can make sedge to rot . Be ordered with your watering , whether it ’s on the dry side or the besotted side because sedges can become stressed from unvarying fluctuations of moisture . In terms of soil sour , sedges are unfussy ; they tolerate both acidic , indifferent , and alkaline land ( pH between 5.5 and 7.5 ) .
Temperature and Humidity
Sedges comprise one of the gravid group of plants with close to 2,000 metal money . They can be set up in almost every part of the world , boom in unlike climate conditions . aboriginal sedges are generally hardy in zone 3 to 9 and non - native sedge in zone 6 to 9 but always read the plant life rag to ensure the sedge you clean will fit your climate . If you live in an area with hot and muggy summertime , select a native fond - time of year sedge that is large-minded of these conditions , such as catlin sedge ( Carex texensis ) .
Fertilizer
Most sedge do not require any impregnation . At the maximum , feed them with a balanced slow - expiration fertilizer betimes in the bound , watch to product label steering .
Pruning
sedge should be cut back infrequently and only if they start to appear ragged . Keep in thinker that they do n’t grow nearly as fast as grasses , which makes up part of their appeal as a turf alternative .
Potting and Repotting Sedge
If you want to implant sedge in a container , take a compact variety . you may plant it in a container by itself or meld it with other plant that have standardised watering and light requirements . Fill a container of at least 6 inch in diameter with a well - run out potting mix . Make certain it has heavy drainage muddle . Unlike sedge planted in the landscape painting , container plants take frequent watering and monthly fertilizer during the growing season .
When the roots have filled the container , repot the sedge in a container at least 2 inches larger and with overbold potting commixture .
Pests and Problems
sedge can be affected by different fungous disease such as vulgarism , rusting , and leaf topographic point , and you might find aphids as well as fungus gnat larvae on them , the latter a signboard that the soil is too tight . On the lustrous side , deer and herbivore critters leave the plant alone .
How to Propagate Sedge
While you’re able to grease one’s palms seeds , germination may be erratic so the easiest way to propagate sedge is bydividing the flora . In the other spring , dig up a dense clump , divide it into smaller discussion section , and replant them at the same profundity in new locations .
Types of Sedge
‘Bowles Golden’ Tufted Sedge
Carex elata’Bowles Golden ' has slender , smart golden - green foliage . Plants spring spring of aureate yellow that are 30 inches grandiloquent . geographical zone 5 - 8
‘Fox Red’ Curly Sedge
Carex buchananii’Fox Red ' has upright , arching bronze foliage that hit 30 in . Its unequalled foliage colour is an aid - grabber . Zones 5 - 9
Golden Sedge
This extract ofCarex elatalights up colored corners with its yellow - edged brilliant green leaves . It grows about 2 feet tall . zona 5 - 9
Island Brocade Sedge
Carex ciliatomarginata’Shima - nishiki ' ( sometimes also called Island BrocadeCarex siderosticha ) , forms a impenetrable groundcover with variegated leaves 6 to 9 inches long . Zones 5 - 8
Japanese Grass Sedge
This cultivar ofCarex morrowiiforms 18 - in - marvelous clumps with ½-inch - wide glistening green leave-taking . zone 5 - 9
Variegated Japanese Grass Sedge
Carex morrowii’Variegata ' differs from the species in having a blanket white stripe down the marrow of each foliage . zone 5 - 9
Variegated Japanese Sedge
Carex oshimensis’Evergold ' , sometimes calledCarex hachijoensis , is a low - growing plant with creamy yellow variegation . It is brave in Zones 6 - 9 .
Sedge Companion Plants
Hosta
Hostais among the easy plant to grow , as long as you have some shade and ample rainfall . Hostas change from bantam plants suitable for trough or careen garden to massive 4 - metrical unit thud with meat - shaped leaves almost 2 feet long that can be puckered , wavelike - edged , clean or green vary , puritanic - gray , chartreuse , emerald - edged — the variations are virtually endless . This tough , subtlety - loving perennial blooms with white or purplish lilac funnel shape - shape or flared flower in summertime . Some are intensely fragrant . Hosta are afavorite of slugsand deer .
Iris
Named for the Grecian goddess of the rainbow , irisindeed come in a rainbow of colors and in many heights . All have the definitive , impossibly intricate flowers . The bloom are build with three upright " stock " petals and three swag " fall " flower petal , which are often different colors . The falls may be " whiskered " or not . Some cultivars bloom a 2nd time in recent summer . Some species prefer alkaline grunge , while others prefer acidulent territory .
Phlox
Just as diverse as the sedge , phloxcomes in many unlike miscellany so you’re able to recover one that fits well with your sedges . Phlox call for moist dirt with excellent drainage that is slightly acid , neutral , or alkaline .
Frequently Asked Questions
About 500 , roughly one - quartern of all Carex species , are native to North America . Most of the non - aboriginal sedges sold by nurseries are native to Asia .
It depends . Some sedges such as nutgrass are pestiferous weeds that infest lawns and take considerable effort to ensure . But there are legion sedge , especially native sedge , that are desirable ornamental plants with high wildlife value .
Updated by Nadia Hassani
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