Gray's sedge
Carex grayi · Cyperacea
A native sedge grown for its seed heads: spiky, green stars like a medieval mace, which last from early summer into winter and turn brown.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Late May to early September
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Gray's sedge
The planner designed this bed around Gray's sedge when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why Gray's sedge stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Gray's sedge × 4, green
- 2 Green-and-gold × 9, yellow
- 3 Mossy saxifrage × 20, pink
- 4 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 5 Globe arborvitae 'Danica' × 1, green leaves
- 6 Anemone 'Wild Swan' × 3, white
- 7 Tiger lily × 4, orange
- 8 Autumn crocus × 12, lavender
Why this plant
- Part of the matrix. The low fabric of grasses and groundcovers that the taller plants come up through.
- The only globes. The others are daisies, open bowls, spires and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only green. Green sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over globe arborvitae 'Danica' (24 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to tiger lily (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 4 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for 15 weeks. From late May to early September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With green-and-gold, mossy saxifrage, foxglove beardtongue and others in late May: 5 kinds at once. No week has more.
- 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 65% of the planted ground. Hot and cool in equal measure: yellow and orange against pink and lavender, with green and white to calm things between them. The back corners are held by tiger lily and foxglove beardtongue, the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Gray's sedge goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
The mace-shaped seed heads are a talking point, and stay on the plant for months. It is a sturdy, upright clump for moist soil.
- Rain gardens and pond sides
- Curious seed heads for arrangements
- Moist woodland edges
What to plant with Gray's sedge
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Cardinal flower: red against green, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for seven weeks.
- Blue flag iris: in flower together for four weeks, from late May.
- Turtlehead 'Hot Lips': in flower together for four weeks, from mid August; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Gray's sedge
Does Gray's sedge need sun or shade?
Gray's sedge grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does Gray's sedge grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Gray's sedge flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to early September. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late May to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late May to early September |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to early September |
| Zone 8 | Early May to early September |
| Zone 9 | Early May to early September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Gray's sedge be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Gray's sedge plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used four in one group.
Is Gray's sedge poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat Gray's sedge?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after Gray's sedge?
Gray's sedge is over by early September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- Bottle gentian: from late August to early October, 20 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Toad lily: from mid September to mid October, 2½ ft tall.
What does Gray's sedge look like in winter?
Gray's 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.
Is Gray's sedge good for bees and butterflies?
Gray's sedge is visited by butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Carex
- Appalachian sedge Carex appalachica
- Blue sedge Carex flacca
- Blue sedge 'Blue Zinger' Carex flacca 'Blue Zinger'
- Bowles' golden sedge Carex elata 'Aurea'
- Bristleleaf sedge Carex eburnea
- 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
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Ornamental grasses under 3 feet
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to early September; globes; green
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Cyperacea
- Comes from
- E. Canada to N. Central & E. U.S.A
- Attracts
- Butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, wet soil, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.