Japanese Sedge (Carex)
Written by: Wanda Simone | Last Updated: May 2, 2024
With its evergreen, lime green, yellow, or variegated foliage, Japanese Sedge is a deer resistant perennial that adds year-round color to gardens, perfect for low-maintenance beauty.
Plant snapshot
Scientific name: Carex
Plant type: perennial
Zone: 5 to 9
Exposure: sun, part shade
Height: 12″ to 24″
Width: 12″ to 24″
Bloom time: spring
Flower color: brown
Japanese Sedge (Carex) has delicate, slender leaves in lime green or yellow that produce a tidy mound of arching attractive foliage.
The leaves are evergreen in most locations and add a bright pop of color to the winter garden. Especially if you mass a few together to make a ground cover or border.
It has small insignificant brown flowers in the spring but is grown for its foliage.
Carex is a low maintenance plant that is deer resistant and has few pest or disease problems.
Note that there is one species of Japanese sedge (Carex kobomugi) which is invasive in the north-eastern United States and should be avoided in those locations.
Japanese Sedge characteristics
Sedge blooms
Flower color: brown
Bloom time: spring
Other information: insignificant flowers
Carex Foliage
Leaf color: variegated, lime green, yellow
Leaf shape: grass-like
Foliage interest: evergreen
Sedge planting & care
Water: drought tolerant once established
Pruning: Sedge doesn’t normally require pruning. But if the foliage is looking a little tattered, cut it back to about 3 inches in the early spring.
Carex benefits & issues
Resistant to: deer
Landscaping uses: ground cover, front of border
Growth habit: easy to grow
Potential issues: can be invasive
More information
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