Native to Know: Seersucker Sedge

Mid-Atlantic Regional Report

As a way statement , seersucker may have come and gone , but for gardeners who apprise eye - enamour foliage , seersucker sedge ( Carex plantaginea , Zones 4–8 ) is always in style . This endearing , lime green sedge is aboriginal to the easterly half of North America and is well suited to gardens and landscape within our part — peculiarly in the timberland conditions it likes to call home . It usually grows in moist , fat soil but can conform well to more difficult conditions too , such as dry soil and suspect slopes .

Typically reaching 6 to 12 inches tall , seersucker sedge has an overall mounded form to about 1 metrical foot across . delight a single clump as an interesting idiom , raise it in groups as a front - of - the - border filler around taller perennials , or plant it in masses as an gentle - attention , evergreen plant primer coat cover around shrub and tree . It ’s easy to divide , and it self - sows mildly too , often crop up up in spots where you would n’t undertake to embed — among heavy surface roots , for exercise , or snug against tree diagram trunks or shrub stems .

Maintenance is dim-witted : just shear the leafage down to about 1 inch in mid - February to early March , around the same fourth dimension you trim back your intercrossed hellebores ( Helleborus×hybridus , zone 4–9 ) . If you hold off too long to trim the sedge , you ’ll cut off the betimes - resurrect flowers , too . They ’re not especially showy — practically black-market bract with a fluff of soft yellow stamens — but they are interesting and worth keeping unless you really do n’t want seedling . The slender anthesis stem shrivel up away in early to midsummer , so you do n’t need to deadhead them to keep the flora tidy .

The “ seersucker ” part of this sedge ’s coarse name comes from its distinctively dimpled leaf Earth’s surface , which closely resembles that of the once - popular lightweight cloth . The matte , rumpled surface and inviolable leaf veining make a handsome contrast to companion that have smooth , glossy foliage , such as European wild powdered ginger ( Asarum europaeum , Zones 4–7 ) .

Another feature that makes this mounded , clump - forming sedge stand out is its comparatively wide-cut leaves . bold than many of its slender - bladed , grasslike sedge relative , the foliation of seersucker sedge works well for creating interesting contrasts with broader - leaved shade lovers , such as Hosta ( Hostacvs . , Zones 3–9 ) and hybrid hellebores , as well as with lacy foliage , like that of epimedium ( Epimediumspp . and cvs . , Zones 5–9 ) , ferns , and wild bleeding hearts ( Dicentra eximia , geographical zone 4–8 ) .

Several sweeping raiser in our region have pick up on this worthful perennial , but it may take a turn of search to regain it in retail vent . It ’s deserving trace for , though , or ask your favorite garden center to order it if they do n’t already have it for sale . Easy to grow , well-heeled to use in combinations ( and oh , did I mention that it ’s cervid insubordinate ? ) , seersucker sedge is an outstanding native to know and grow in Mid - Atlantic garden .

Nancy J. Ondra is the author of over fifteen book , includingGrasses , The Perennial Care Manual , andThe Perennial Matchmaker .

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