Carex / Sedge

What plant could be more useful in the garden than one that’s evergreen and can handle deep, deep shade just fine, as well as sun? And once established, it’s super-drought-tolerant.   I hereby nominate Carex as a Hero of Sustainable Gardening (and Climate Change)!

Details

• Foliage plant with negligible blooms.
• Evergreen — yes! Foliage comes in green, variegated green and white, gold, or bronze.
• Hardiness varies across the 2,000 species in this group, from Zone 5 southward.
• The Carex in the photo above is a plain one, which grows to about 3 feet tall.  The next photo is of the variety ‘Ice Dance,’ which is 4-6 inches tall and variegated green and white. There are also many Carexs that are native to North America.
  

Care

• None that mine have ever needed. But….
• They HATE being moved, so do it only when absolutely necessary, in spring or fall, and water it regularly til it’s established, especially if it’s in sun. Carex may LOOK as tough as liriope, but its little roots just can’t be yanked around the garden the way liriope’s roots can.

‘Ice Dance’ photo credit: Evelyn Hadden.