Appalachian sedge
Carex appalachica ·
A fountain of hair-fine, bright green leaves that swirls around the base of trees. It grows in dry shade.
- Size
- 10 in tall, 16 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around Appalachian sedge
The planner designed this bed around Appalachian sedge when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why Appalachian sedge stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Appalachian sedge × 8, green leaves
- 2 Christmas rose × 6, white
- 3 Japanese meadowsweet × 3, pink
- 4 White turtlehead × 5, white
- 5 Bleeding heart 'Gold Heart' × 1, pink
- 6 Golden ragwort × 14, yellow
- 7 Hardy cyclamen × 5, pink
- 8 Snowdrop × 5, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- Part of the matrix. The low fabric of grasses and groundcovers that the taller plants come up through.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 10 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 52% of the edge.
- 8 plants in 2 runs (5 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
- Fine leaf against bold. Japanese meadowsweet is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, into winter. They cover the 9 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- Stands through winter. Left uncut, it holds its shape until March, when the perennials have gone.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 40% of the planted ground. The back corners are held by white turtlehead and Japanese meadowsweet, the tallest plants on the plan. There is more golden ragwort than anything else, 14 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Appalachian sedge goes in a border
At 10 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The finest texture of any native sedge. Planted in a mass it looks like long, flowing hair combed by the wind.
- A soft, grassy groundcover for dry shade
- Under trees
- A no-mow lawn alternative in woodland
What to plant with Appalachian sedge
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Christmas fern: tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- Wild ginger: bold leaves against its fine ones; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- White wood aster: adds the flowers, late August to early October; tall enough (24 in) to stand behind it.
Questions about Appalachian sedge
Does Appalachian sedge need sun or shade?
Appalachian sedge grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does Appalachian sedge grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should Appalachian sedge be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 16 in (40 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 in (25 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Appalachian sedge plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used eight in two groups.
Is there a native plant like Appalachian sedge?
Appalachian sedge is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Pennsylvania sedge: the same job in a bed; 4 in narrower.
- New York fern: the same job in a bed; 8 in taller.
- Mayapple: the same job in a bed; 6 in taller, bold leaves, not fine.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What does Appalachian sedge look like in winter?
Appalachian sedge holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Carex
- Blue sedge Carex flacca
- Blue sedge 'Blue Zinger' Carex flacca 'Blue Zinger'
- Bowles' golden sedge Carex elata 'Aurea'
- Bristleleaf sedge Carex eburnea
- Gray's sedge Carex grayi
- Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance'
- Leatherleaf sedge Carex buchananii
- Orange New Zealand sedge Carex testacea
- Palm sedge Carex muskingumensis
- Pennsylvania sedge Carex pensylvanica
- Sedge 'Bunny Blue' Carex laxiculmis 'Hobb' (Bunny Blue)
- Sedge 'Everest' Carex oshimensis 'Everest'
- Sedge 'Evergold' Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'
- Sedge 'Everillo' Carex oshimensis 'Everillo'
- Sedge 'Frosted Curls' Carex comans 'Frosted Curls'
- Seersucker sedge Carex plantaginea
- Tussock sedge Carex stricta
- Variegated broadleaf sedge Carex siderosticha 'Variegata'
- Variegated Japanese sedge Carex morrowii 'Variegata'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 10 in (25 cm) tall, 16 in (40 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.