These tough plants are perfect for creating a grassy look in dappled shade
Being an undercover plant addict is my worst - kept secret . Sedges ( Carexspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–10 ) are my current regression . I consider spending so many years glom onhostas(Hostaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–8 ) and their big , rounded leaves has will me hungry for something new . A genus of over 1,500 species , sedgescan grow in habitats ranging from dry to moisture and from sunny to suspect , and in varioussoiltypes through virtually every region of the world . These versatile and attractive plants have their office in any garden . Here are three of my favorite native sedges .
‘Little Midge’ palm sedge
Carex muskingumensis‘Little Midge ’ , Zones 3–9
Damp soils are problematic whether they are in the garden or in area where one would prefer to have a lawn . Fortunately , ‘ Little Midge ’ palm sedge was present as an solvent to that problem . A compact plant that colonizes in optimal conditions to create a lush immature carpet , ‘ Little Midge ’ grows into rounded thumping 8 to 10 column inch tall and 10 to 18 in wide . It ’s lovely as a specimen works or planted in groups . It also looks pretty in container as a filler or emphasis . Preferring cloud to full shade , it perform well enough in full Lord’s Day if consistently preserve moist . Resistant to pests and grazing from cervid and other herbivore , it is a reliable choice for woodland , native , and wetland garden .
Plains oval sedge
Carex brevior , zone 3–8
A lakeside project provide this designer with several challenging scenario after a new base was build . Soil disturbance , changing elevations , and new drainage patterns create a tumid , depressed area under a grove of easterly cottonwood trees ( Populus deltoides , zona 2–9 ) . The environment could n’t brook a lawn , was suspicious , and start out quite soggy after storms , requiring serious research to get hold a solution . The result was a mass planting of Plains oval sedge under the trees and throughout the depressed soil . Hardy to Zone 3 and native throughout most of the United States , it ’s a marvellous sedge ; the leaf blades are only 1/8 - inch widely , but each grows to 12 inch long , with the seed heads make a height of 3 to 4 foot in belated spring . This sedge takes full sun to partial shade . The gentle foliage cascade to the side later in the season , creating the looking of wave . Spacing is recommended at 18 to 24 inches , but a tighter planting might be safe . I interplanted this with ‘ Blue Danube ’ camass ( Camassialeichtliniisubsp.suksdorfii‘Blue Danube ’ syn . ‘ Blauwe Donau ’ , Zones 5–9 ) for a soda water of colouring material in late spring . The bulbs need to be replanted every two years to keep the video display robust .
Plantain-leaf sedge
Carex plantaginea , Zones 4–8
This sedge thrives in rich woodlands , ravines , and muckle slopes . autochthonal to the northeastern United States , it can be ground develop wild as far west as Minnesota . One of the only intrepid widely - pull up stakes sedges available to nurseryman in our region , Musa paradisiaca - leafage sedge is often mistaken for liriope ( Liriopespp . and cvs . , Zones 4–10 ) by those unfamiliar with it . reach a compact size of 1 foot grandiloquent and 1 pes wide , it is a goodly little works . I use it judiciously , as I find it does n’t have much tolerance for being disturb . Having planted a 12 several geezerhood ago in my garden , the ones plant where the dog has take the air have not come so well . Those gather back away from dealings are happier and still there . In a node ’s forest garden , I planted several dozen in various group . They are not regularly trouble and are doing quite well . Plantain - leafage sedge does best in partial shade and moist ground but adapts to drier , fly-by-night locations .
Care tips for these sedges
All three of these sedges have important similarity that merit credit . Their foliage holds well over the wintertime , and likegrasses , their leaf should be leave up forwinter sake . you may cut off the foliage back just above the base of the plant in early springiness before fresh growth emerges . Asnative plants , these sedge have seed head that are a food origin fornative bird , with the minute , grassy foliage being a choice pole for thecaterpillarsof woodland butterfly to fertilise upon . All are adaptable but are happiest in a partially shaded , moist site . Give them what they want , and you will have felicitous , devil-may-care plants that postulate little if anything else . No pruning , no fussing , no staking , and nodeadheadingare required . No prima donnas here , only carefree sedges .
For more native plants , condition out :
And for more Northern Plains regional reports , click here .
— Marti Neely , FAPLD , possess and control Marti Neely Design and Associates in Omaha , Nebraska .
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Plantain-leaf sedge forms a tight mound of broad foliage.Photo: Midwest Groundcovers
‘Little Midge’ palm sedge has attractive, thin, glossy leaves.Photo: Marti Neely
Plains oval sedge has interesting seed heads on tall stems. Here, it’s seen growing wild in Wyoming.Photo: Matt Lavin,CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Plantain-leaf sedge has wide, strappy leaves.
