It's all about ...
plants

Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder
 
ornamental grass

White-tinged Sedge

Carex albicans

Add To My Plant List

White-tinged Sedge (Carex albicans) at Lakeshore Garden Centres

White-tinged Sedge

White-tinged Sedge

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Height:  18 inches

Spread:  24 inches

Sunlight:  partial shade  full shade 

Hardiness Zone:  2a

Other Names:  Oak Sedge, White Tinged Sedge

Description:

A beautiful ornamental grass that is ideal for shady borders, beds and containers; mounded thread-like foliage in clumps produce scaly flower spikes with distinct white margins; adaptable, thrives in dry soils; easy to grow with little to no maintenance

Ornamental Features

White-tinged Sedge features showy plumes of brown flowers with tan overtones and white edges at the ends of the stems from mid to late spring. Its attractive glossy threadlike leaves are lime green in colour. The foliage often turns tan in fall.

Landscape Attributes

White-tinged Sedge is an open herbaceous perennial grass with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

White-tinged Sedge is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Mass Planting
  • Rock/Alpine Gardens
  • Border Edging
  • General Garden Use
  • Groundcover
  • Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
  • Container Planting

Planting & Growing

White-tinged Sedge will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.

White-tinged Sedge is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

 
 
Hardiness Zone Plant Height Minimum Sunlight
Characteristics
Massing  Rock  Edging  Garden  Groundcover  Naturalizing  Container 
Applications
Flowers  Foliage Color  Texture  Plant Form 
Ornamental Features