Carex plantaginea

Grows well in part or full shade in moist to average soil. Tolerates a dry shady site, but will not spread as freely.

Unlike other woodland sedges, Carex plantaginea has bold textural contrast with broad shiny deep green leaves that are puckered like ribbon. Growing about 6-12” tall and 12” wide, seersucker sedge grows well in dry shade, making it a wonderful clumping groundcover and problem solver. The almost-evergreen foliage is a constant in the landscape with light purple-brown flowers arriving in early spring.

Carex plantaginea grows in rich deciduous forests in the eastern United States up to Canada. While it excels in moist shaded sites in calcareous soils, it can adapt to difficult dry shaded sites quite well. Seersucker sedge does well in light to medium shade in the garden and should be cut back in late winter to maintain its bright appearance.

The trial gardens have a few difficult dry shade locations and we love to experiment to see which Carex spp performs the best. In an area beneath a spruce tree, we have a mixed planting of Carex plantaginea, Carex pensylvanica, Carex platyphylla and Heuchera americana ‘Dale’s Strain’ and love the way seersucker sedge contrasts with the running Carex pensylvanica and the mottled color of the Heuchera in the fall. A great forage for local wild birds and insects, sedges are a true workhorse in the garden.