Other Names:  Purple Sheathed Graceful Sedge

Description:

A cool season perennial native sedge that forms dense clumps of dark green foliage, rising from dark purple sheaths at the base; arching seed stems rise above in summer; excellent addition to borders, rock gardens, or edging around ponds and streams

Ornamental Features

Graceful Sedge is primarily valued in the garden for its interestingly mounded form. Its attractive grassy leaves remain dark green in color throughout the season. The brown fruits are held in clusters in mid summer.

Landscape Attributes

Graceful Sedge is a dense 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.

Graceful Sedge is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Bog Gardens

Planting & Growing

Graceful Sedge will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity extending to 30 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a slow 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 quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This species is native to parts of North America. It can be propagated by division.