Pennsylvania sedge
Carex pensylvanica · Cyperaceae
A soft, fine, low sedge that spreads slowly into a flowing green carpet under trees. It tolerates dry shade and needs no mowing.
- Size
- 8 in tall, 12 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around Pennsylvania sedge
The planner designed this bed around Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania sedge stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Pennsylvania sedge × 9, green leaves
- 2 Christmas rose × 8, white
- 3 Japanese meadowsweet × 3, pink
- 4 White turtlehead × 5, white
- 5 Bleeding heart 'Gold Heart' × 1, pink
- 6 Golden ragwort × 13, yellow
- 7 Hardy cyclamen × 3, 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 8 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 42% of the edge.
- 9 plants in 3 runs (5, 3 and 1). 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 33% of the planted ground. The scheme leans cool (pink) and uses yellow for warmth, with white to calm things between them. The back corners are held by white turtlehead and Japanese meadowsweet, the tallest plants on the plan.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 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 Pennsylvania sedge goes in a border
At 8 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 best native lawn substitute for shade. It makes a soft, ankle-deep sward that can be left alone or mown twice a year. Plant plugs 20 to 30 cm apart, as it fills in slowly.
- A no-mow lawn for dry shade
- Groundcover under oaks and other trees
- Native woodland planting
What to plant with Pennsylvania sedge
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Wild geranium: adds the flowers, early May to late May; tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- Christmas fern: tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- White wood aster: adds the flowers, late August to early October; tall enough (24 in) to stand behind it.
Questions about Pennsylvania sedge
Does Pennsylvania sedge need sun or shade?
Pennsylvania sedge 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 is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does Pennsylvania sedge grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 8 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 Pennsylvania sedge be planted?
8 in (20 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 12 in (30 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 in (20 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Pennsylvania sedge plants do I need?
At 8 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 27 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 16 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 86 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 nine in three groups.
Is Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania sedge look like in winter?
Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania sedge good for bees and butterflies?
Pennsylvania 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
- Palm sedge Carex muskingumensis
- 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 dry shade
- Plants for deep shade
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Ornamental grasses under 3 feet
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Grass
- Size
- 8 in (20 cm) tall, 12 in (30 cm) wide
- Plant
- 8 in (20 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, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Cyperaceae
- Comes from
- Central & E. Canada to N. Central & E. U.S.A
- Attracts
- Butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, wet soil, deep shade, 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.