Do you have a dry shady area you don’t know what to do with? There’s a sedge for that. Have a wet area you don’t know what to do with? There’s a sedge for that too. Learn about these lush-looking, versatile native plants and how they can fill problem spots in your yard—while adding benefits for native wildlife.
Iris versicolor (northern blue flag) with Carex vulpinoidea (fox-tail sedge). Image by Tom Potterfield.
What are sedges?
Sure, everyone knows what flowers and grasses are—but what is a sedge?
A sedge is a grass-like plant with a triangular stem, and the old saying holds: Sedges have edges. Most garden sedges belong to Carex, a group of about 2,100 species in the sedge family (Cyperaceae).
You’ll also see them called sedge grass, but they aren’t true grasses. Roll a stem between your fingers and you’ll feel three sides, where a grass stem rolls round.
Sedges have edges.
Old-school botanical rhyme
Cut a sedge stem and you’ll see why it’s called edgy: three sides, not a circle. Photo by John Tann.
They are widespread in North America and are important parts of native ecosystems. We have hundreds of species of them.
In the garden, sedges are a lot like grasses, but they are useful because they can handle different conditions that are tough for other plants, like wet soil or shade. They also bloom with what look like tiny wheat stalks.
Most of them form a clump and don’t spread, so they can be placed in borders or close together to make a meadow-like appearance. Some can even be mown.
Sedges can add color and texture, stability, and lushness to gardens, and fill out spaces that are difficult for other plants to thrive. After they’re established, they’re extremely low-maintenance and fuss-free.
Many are evergreen, too, and they are generally uninteresting to deer and rabbits.
What are the benefits of sedges to wildlife?
Sedges play many important roles in native ecosystems. Many of them are host plants to native butterflies and pollinators, meaning these species need them to lay their eggs on or for their caterpillars to eat.
Birds and other wildlife also eat tiny sedge seeds, and the foliage provides cover for birds and other animals to nest in.
Many sedges are found in wetlands, where they anchor the soil, clean and cool down the water, and provide habitat for fish and other aquatic species. Much like grasses, much of the plant is actually underground, which makes them excellent at stabilizing soil. In some narrow streams, the roots of sedges may reach all the way underneath the water—knitting the two banks together.
Bison chowing down on sedges in Yellowstone National Park
Who eats sedges?
In Yellowstone National Park, scientists have catalogued that almost a third of a bison’s diet is sedges. They are also known to be eaten by beavers, muskrats, pikas, bears, bighorn sheep, musk oxen, moose, elk, and reindeer.
In the wild, sedges are also some of the first species to regrow after forest fires, coming back from underground rhizomes or sprouting from seeds, and they can help prevent soil erosion after a fire.
If you plant sedges in your garden, you are absolutely benefitting native wildlife and ecosystems!
What should I do with sedges?
Much like native grasses, sedges are not always the first thing your eye goes to at the garden center, but they can be incredibly valuable in the garden.
Here are a few ideas for where to plant sedges:
Fill out spaces where it’s hard for other species to thrive, like dry shade or wet areas.
Use them to replace part (or all) of your lawn.
Plant evergreen species for a touch of green in the winter.
Use them to fill out and add fine texture to a flower bed, or as a neutral repeating element to bring cohesion to your garden.
Line the edges of pathways for a soft, inviting look.
Use as a groundcover or to suppress weeds.
Surround a tree with sedges and add spring bulbs or native spring flowers for a lush look.
Sedges are nice additions to shade gardens, cottage gardens in partial shade or wet soil, or Prairie-style minimalist gardens.
Plant dry-tolerant sedges in containers to show off their elegant fountain structure.
California meadow sedge, a soft green mound that can stand in for a lawn
If you’ve got them in the right spot, sedges are just about the easiest thing to grow.
How do I grow sedges?
If you’ve got them in the right spot, sedges are just about the easiest thing to grow. Match your shade and wetness situation to a sedge, using the list below, and you are in for years of low or zero-maintenance green.
Give them a little extra TLC during the first year
You’ll want to baby them a little when they are first planted. But after they are established, sedges don’t need watering, fertilizing, or fussing. If you feel like it, you can give them a haircut once a year in early spring, just about when the new growth starts to be visible.
Palm sedge (left bottom corner) is a perfect pairing with native turtleheads. Photo by Fred Ortlip.
What are good native sedges for the garden?
Sedges have two main niches in the garden: dry shade areas, or wet areas (in either sun or shade). We’ll go through both categories, as well as some flexible sedges that can handle both.
Sedges for wet areas
Close-up of fox sedge seed heads, looking like tiny little fox tails packed along the thin stem.
Native to a huge range of North America, fox sedge is a superstar for the garden with moist to wet soils. It forms a 2-foot by 2-foot globe of finely textured, bright green leaves that look lovely as a backdrop to flowers or draping along the edges of a path. Some people have also reported growing it successfully in drier soils in cool climates.
Fox sedge likes full sun to part shade, but doesn’t like deep shade. If it’s happy and is allowed to spread, it will.
Wet or dry: It’s happy in moist to wet soil, so that soggy corner you’ve been ignoring (or a rain garden basin) is its spot
Sun or shade: full sun to part shade, so give it a bright spot
Height: 1 to 3 feet, anywhere from shin to waist high depending on the site
Works as groundcover: not really. It grows in clumps and mostly spreads by seed, so think scattered tufts, not a carpet
The sedge for the Southeast, Cherokee sedge is an upright plant with pleasing electric green strands. This tough plant doesn’t mind clay, heat, or constantly wet soil, and it can handle anything from full sun to shade as long as it’s mostly moist.
Cherokee sedge will very slowly spread over time, so it can be either used in a garden border or edging along a walkway, or en masse as a groundcover or erosion control. It’s also a great candidate for rain gardens.
Wet or dry: It likes moist to wet soil, and it’s fine in average garden soil if you water it during dry spells
Sun or shade: part sun to shade, and it adapts to full sun if that’s what you’ve got
Height: 1 to 2 feet
Works as groundcover: yes. Plant it in a mass and let it fill in; it spreads slowly, so it won’t take over
Palm sedge is an unusual sedge with leaves that grow sideways out along the stem in a way that looks a bit like a palm frond. Native to much of the East and Midwest, it adds a nice texture to any wet area, including shallow standing water. If it’s happy, it will spread.
Wet or dry: the wetter, the better. It likes moist to wet soil and will stand in shallow water, so it works for a pond edge or a rain garden
Sun or shade: full sun to part shade, so it’s easy to place
Height: 2 to 3 feet, with arching leaves that give it a fountain shape (the ‘Oehme’ cultivar stays at 1 to 2 feet)
Works as groundcover: yes. It spreads slowly into a wide, fountain-shaped patch
Prairie Nursery writes, “The soft, spherical appearance of this sedge belies its tough nature and adaptability to heat and drought.” Growing only 6 inches high, this little bright green sedge can survive in anything from full sun to full shade and doesn’t mind sandy or rocky soils. It is native to much of the East, Midwest, and northern Great Plains/Mountain West.
It is a great candidate for planting under trees, in flower beds or rock gardens, or anywhere you need a groundcover in a drier shady spot.
Wet or dry: dry to moist, and sandy or rocky ground is no problem
Sun or shade: part shade to shade, so use it where other plants sulk; it can take more sun if the soil stays moist
Height: 6 to 10 inches, a small tuft that stays close to the ground
Works as groundcover: slowly. It’s a small clump that spreads by thin underground stems, and under cedars it can knit into a dense mat
California meadow sedge likes sandy soils and will form a dense low mat that looks pretty darn similar to lawn—while creating a home for small birds, and supporting native butterflies and moths. It is native all along the Pacific Coast.
If you want it to stay green all through summer in a drought, however, it will need some occasional watering (though less than a traditional European lawn). It will stay at about 4″ tall and doesn’t need to be mowed.
Wet or dry: medium water. Once it’s settled in, a weekly drink keeps it green; let it dry out in summer and it goes dormant and turns golden, like it’s sleeping through the worst of it
Sun or shade: full sun to part shade, but it’s happiest in a sunny spot
Height: 8 to 12 inches, or shorter if you mow it
Works as groundcover: yes. It spreads by underground stems into a meadow-like patch, and you can mow it to 1.5 to 3 inches as a lawn substitute that handles moderate foot traffic
With wide, glossy green leaves that have a pleated look, plantain-leaf sedge is a very pretty sedge that looks a bit like a thin-leafed hosta or liriope. It is sometimes also called seersucker sedge.
It’s a shade-lover and can handle dry or medium soil. It looks wonderful paired with wild ginger as a textural contrast for a native shady groundcover. Plantain-leaf sedge is native to much of the East and Midwest, and is a host plant for several native butterflies.
Its cousin, silver sedge (C. platyphylla), looks just like it but has beautiful deep blue-green leaves instead of emerald green.
Wet or dry: it likes average to moist soil and handles a dry spell without drama
Sun or shade: part shade to shade; full sun is too much for it
Height: 6 to 10 inches, a low clump of wide, pleated leaves
Works as groundcover: not really. It grows in tidy clumps, but a group planted together still looks like a patch
A few sedges can adapt to many different kinds of situations, which makes them especially useful in the garden (for example, if you want to achieve a unified look across different areas).
The leaves of Appalachian sedge are bright green in the spring and summer and turn orange-yellow in fall. “The foliage is wonderfully impressionistic and flowing,” writes William Cullina. This sedge can grow in anything from moist to dry soil and looks nice mixed with flowers in a sunny or part-shade border.
Wet or dry: dry to average soil, so it suits dry shade; skip the soggy spots
Sun or shade: part sun to full shade, and it does especially well in deep shade
Height: about 1 foot, a soft mound of fine leaves that arch over
Works as groundcover: partly. It grows in neat clumps instead of spreading, so plant it in a mass to get a carpet effect, and it can stand in for turf
Native to much of the eastern U.S., Pennsylvania sedge is increasingly becoming a darling of gardeners because it can handle that most challenging of garden conditions: the dreaded dry shade. (It can also grow in full blazing sun, but it would prefer for the soil to not be super dry in that case.) Pennsylvania sedge will form a lovely low, lush look under trees or in partly shaded borders.
It grows to 8 inches tall in a clump, so depending on the look you’re going for, you can leave it alone or mow it to 3 or 4 inches tall a few times a year to form a lawn substitute that can handle light foot traffic.
It is semi-evergreen, especially in milder climates, and will slowly spread, but is not aggressive.
Overview
Wet or dry: dry to moist. It prefers average, well-drained soil, so dry shade under a tree is a good fit
Sun or shade: part shade to full shade, even heavy shade
Height: 6 to 18 inches
Works as groundcover: yes. It spreads into a loose carpet or a dense mat, and you can mow it two to three times a year at 2 to 4 inches if you want a lawn
The nonprofit Mt. Cuba Center ran a trial of native sedges in the garden and Wood’s sedge took top marks in almost all categories. This eastern and Midwest native sedge grows best in shade, but also does well in full sun. It’s great at suppressing weeds and can even be considered as a lawn substitute, as it responds well to mowing. It’s semi-evergreen.
Wet or dry: average to dry soil, so it doesn’t need much from you
Sun or shade: sun, part shade, or shade; it’s easygoing about light
Height: 6 to 12 inches
Works as groundcover: yes. It creeps along slowly, so plant it where you can wait for it to fill in
Long beaked sedge has a lovely arching habit and looks beautiful around the bases of trees or mixed with flowers. It’s very flexible—it can grow in any kind of soil, including clay; in any moisture level from dry to wet; and in anything from shade to sun. This one likes it cool; it is native to a large swath of the northern U.S.
Overview
Wet or dry: easygoing. Average-moisture soil is its sweet spot, but it handles drier or wetter ground
Sun or shade: part shade to shade, and it takes full sun too, so it works under trees or out in the open
Height: 1 to 3 feet
Works as groundcover: not really. It grows in tight clumps, but a group planted together fills a space
I’ve seen the Latin word ‘carex’ repeated; what does it mean?
‘Carex’ is a botanical Latin name inspired by the Greek word keiró, which means to shear or cut hair. The sharp, triangular shape of carex blades inspired this name.
Who comes up with botanical Latin names? For hundreds of years, botanists and scientists did. Now, the International Botanical Congress decides on many things, including Latin plant names. Visit our Do I have to learn Latin? article for more.
You probably have some questions now that we’ve introduced these stellar sedge ideas. Let’s dig in!
Where can I buy native sedges?
It’s true that it can be harder to find native plants than their non-native counterparts, but it’s getting better all the time. We’ve compiled some resources to help:
If your area is sunny and wet, try fox sedge, Cherokee sedge, or palm sedge. If it’s shady and wet, try Cherokee Sedge or Palm Sedge.
What are native sedges that are good groundcovers?
Some types of sedges spread and make good groundcovers that can suppress weeds. For the East & Midwest, try Pennsylvania Sedge or Wood’s Sedge in drier soils, or in wet areas, try Cherokee Sedge or Palm Sedge. In California, try California Meadow Sedge in the sun, or look into Short Stem Sedge for the shade; in the Pacific Northwest, look into dense sedge.
For all groundcovers, usually you can plant them a foot apart and they will fill in.
Can I replace my lawn with native sedges?
Yes—as long as you match your sedge to the conditions you have, and don’t need it to withstand constant heavy foot traffic. Sedges will make a lovely meadow that is 6-8 inches high, or you can mow it a few times a year to 3 or 4 inches, depending on the kind you choose.
What are sedges that can be lawn replacements?
In the West, try California meadow sedge. In the Plains and Texas, try Texas sedge. In the East, try Pennsylvania sedge, Wood’s sedge, or ivory sedge for medium to dry soils, or fox sedge for wet areas. Remember these sedges can all handle light foot traffic, but not constant use. Mow them high (3 to 4 inches).
Sedges can be weirdly difficult to start from seed, so we recommend buying them as plants.
We hope this has helped you learn about a few of our highly useful native sedges here in the U.S. Sedges are just about as low-maintenance a plant as you could ask for—just match your conditions with a sedge and you’re golden.
Cullina, William. Native Ferns, Moss, & Grasses: From Emerald Carpet to Amber Wave, Serene and Sensuous Plants for the Garden. Echo Point Books and Media, 2008.
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