Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance'
Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance' · Cyperaceae
Dark, glossy, evergreen leaves with crisp white edges. It spreads steadily by runners into a dense, weed-proof carpet.
- Size
- 14 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance'
The planner designed this bed around Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' 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 Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' × 3, variegated leaves
- 2 Bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' × 8, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 18, blue
- 4 Blue wood aster × 3, lavender
- 5 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' × 3, white
- 6 Bleeding heart × 1, pink
- 7 Snowdrop × 10, white
- 8 Checkered lily × 5, purple
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
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 9 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 44% of the planted ground. Low plants run along 100% of the front edge: bleeding heart 'King of Hearts' and leadwort. There is more leadwort than anything else, 18 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 6 Good. 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 Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' goes in a border
At 14 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
A bright, clean carpet all year, and a good substitute for lilyturf in colder zones. It spreads slowly enough to be easy to control.
- Evergreen groundcover for shade
- Edging paths
- Under trees and shrubs
What to plant with Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Lenten rose: adds the flowers, late March to early May; bold leaves against its fine ones.
- Autumn fern: happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance'
Does Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' need sun or shade?
Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), 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 soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' 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.
How far apart should Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' be planted?
16 in (40 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 14 in (35 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 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 three in one group.
Is Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' 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.
Is there a native plant like Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance'?
Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' comes from Central & S. Japan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Broad beech fern: the same job in a bed; 4 in taller, medium leaves, not fine.
- Common polypody: the same job in a bed and the same size; medium leaves, not fine, wants average soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
Will Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by underground runners and can crowd its neighbours. Dig out the edges or divide every 2 to 3 years.
What does Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' look like in winter?
Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' keeps its variegated leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' good for bees and butterflies?
Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' is visited by songbirds.
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
- Gray's sedge Carex grayi
- 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
- 14 in (35 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; variegated
- Shape
- Arching, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Comes from
- Central & S. Japan
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Wet soil
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.