Leatherleaf sedge
Carex buchananii · Cyperaceae
Stiff, upright tufts of thread-like, copper-bronze leaves that curl at the tips. It is this colour all year and is not dead, whatever visitors say.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Accent
A bed built around leatherleaf sedge
The planner designed this bed around leatherleaf sedge when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why leatherleaf sedge stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Leatherleaf sedge × 2, bronze leaves
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 29, pink
- 3 Sea thrift × 9, white
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' × 5, purple
- 6 Eastern prickly pear × 1, yellow
- 7 Hardy gladiolus × 4, pink
- 8 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky'.
Why here
- In the middle. At 24 in it is the step between eastern prickly pear (10 in) in front and switchgrass 'Cheyenne Sky' (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 2 plants in 2 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
- Fine leaf against bold. Eastern prickly pear is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 14 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- One of three evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 58% of the planted ground. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 50% of the visual weight and the right half 50%. Eastern prickly pear, sea thrift and sedum 'Lidakense' finish the front edge.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 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 leatherleaf sedge goes in a border
At 24 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: accent. An upright plant used singly, like a punctuation mark, and repeated at intervals to give the bed rhythm.
Brown is an unusual colour to plant, and it needs the right partners: blue, silver and chartreuse foliage make it glow. Alone, it looks dead.
- Bronze foliage for contrast
- Containers
- Modern planting schemes
What to plant with leatherleaf sedge
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Sedum 'Angelina': low enough (5 in) to stand in front of it.
- Blue fescue: low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
- Black mondo grass: low enough (8 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about leatherleaf sedge
Does leatherleaf sedge need sun or shade?
Leatherleaf sedge grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does leatherleaf sedge grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should leatherleaf sedge be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many leatherleaf 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 one at a time, repeated along the bed at intervals; a slender one reads better as a clump of three.
In the bed above, the planner used two in two groups.
Is leatherleaf 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.
Is there a native plant like leatherleaf sedge?
Leatherleaf sedge comes from New Zealand. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Soft rush: the same job in a bed; 12 in taller, wants wet soil.
- Palm sedge: a drift, not an accent, 4 in taller.
- Little bluestem: a drift, not an accent, 12 in taller.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat leatherleaf 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 does leatherleaf sedge look like in winter?
Leatherleaf sedge keeps its bronze 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 leatherleaf sedge good for bees and butterflies?
Leatherleaf sedge is visited by pollinators and butterflies.
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
- Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance'
- 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
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; bronze
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Comes from
- New Zealand
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
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.