Sedge 'Evergold'
Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' · Cyperaceae
A neat, weeping, evergreen mound of narrow leaves, each with a broad, creamy-yellow stripe down the centre.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Edging
A bed built around sedge 'Evergold'
The planner designed this bed around sedge 'Evergold' 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 sedge 'Evergold' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sedge 'Evergold' × 5, variegated leaves
- 2 Leadwort × 22, blue
- 3 Foxglove × 4, purple
- 4 White bleeding heart × 1, white
- 5 Northern sea oats × 5, tan
- 6 Glory-of-the-snow × 12, pink
- 7 Winter aconite × 12, yellow
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.
- The only fine leaves here. The rest are medium and bold. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 12 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 56% of the edge.
- 5 plants in one run. An unbroken run of one kind gives the edge a clean line.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 11 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 76% of the planted ground. Sedge 'Evergold' and northern sea oats carry the bed through winter. There is more leadwort than anything else, 22 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Foxglove is highly poisonous to people, dogs, cats and horses. Winter aconite is highly poisonous to people, dogs, cats and horses.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where sedge 'Evergold' goes in a border
At 12 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: edging. A low, neat plant used in short runs of three or five along the front to finish the edge (or, in a formal bed, in one even row).
A small fountain of cream and green that stays tidy all year without cutting back. It makes a good repeated edging plant in part shade.
- Edging shady paths
- Containers
- Brightening the front of a shady bed
What to plant with sedge 'Evergold'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta 'Halcyon': bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Coral bells.
- Black mondo grass.
Questions about sedge 'Evergold'
Does sedge 'Evergold' need sun or shade?
Sedge 'Evergold' 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 sedge 'Evergold' 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 sedge 'Evergold' 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 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sedge 'Evergold' 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 runs of three or five along the front (or one even row, in a formal bed).
In the bed above, the planner used five in one group.
Is sedge 'Evergold' 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 sedge 'Evergold'?
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 sedge 'Evergold' look like in winter?
Sedge 'Evergold' 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 sedge 'Evergold' good for bees and butterflies?
Sedge 'Evergold' 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
- 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 '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
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; variegated
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- 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
- Japan
- Attracts
- 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.