Palm sedge
Carex muskingumensis · Cyperaceae
Narrow, bright green leaves radiate from the tops of the stems like the fronds of a miniature palm tree. A native of wet woods.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around palm sedge
The planner designed this bed around palm 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 palm sedge stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 2 Mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' × 6, yellow
- 3 Blue star creeper × 22, blue
- 4 Foxglove beardtongue × 3, white
- 5 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 6 Mountain hydrangea 'Tuff Stuff' × 1, pink
- 7 Trout lily 'Pagoda' × 12, yellow
- 8 Crocus 'Ruby Giant' × 12, purple
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- Part of the matrix. The low fabric of grasses and groundcovers that the taller plants come up through.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does mountain hydrangea 'Tuff Stuff'.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is the step between mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana' (8 in) in front and brown-eyed Susan (4 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 11 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 55% of the planted ground. Low plants run along 100% of the front edge: blue star creeper and mouse-ear coreopsis 'Nana'. Cool colours (blue, pink and purple) set against hot ones (yellow), with white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 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 palm 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 whorled leaves give it a look unlike any other sedge, almost tropical. It turns yellow in autumn, and spreads slowly by runners and seed in moist soil.
- Rain gardens and stream sides
- An unusual texture
- Moist part shade
What to plant with palm sedge
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Blue flag iris: adds the flowers, late May to late June.
- Swamp milkweed: adds the flowers, early July to early August; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Cardinal flower: adds the flowers, late July to mid September.
Questions about palm sedge
Does palm sedge need sun or shade?
Palm 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, of average fertility, and plenty of water. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does palm sedge grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should palm 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 (70 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many palm 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 three in one group.
Is palm 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 palm 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.
Will palm sedge 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 palm sedge look like in winter?
Palm sedge turns the colour of straw and, left uncut, stands through the winter, with seed for the birds. Cut it down in late winter, before the new shoots come up.
Is palm sedge good for bees and butterflies?
Palm 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
- Gray's sedge Carex grayi
- Japanese sedge 'Ice Dance' Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance'
- Leatherleaf sedge Carex buchananii
- Orange New Zealand sedge Carex testacea
- 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
- 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
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 2½ ft (70 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
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Comes from
- E. Canada to E. Central U.S.A
- Attracts
- Butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, 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.