New Zealand hair sedge

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; provide afternoon shade in hot climates.

Water

Moderate; keep newly planted clumps evenly moist, then water during prolonged dry spells. Avoid waterlogged soil.

Soil

Well-drained soil with moderate fertility; tolerates sandy, loamy and gravelly soils. Heavy clay needs improved drainage.

Height

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Foliage

Evergreen. Very narrow, hairlike leaves arch into a fountain-shaped mound, often with curled tips. Colour varies from pale silvery green to bronze-brown, depending on the form.

Growth

Moderate

Care needed

Low

• Deer resistant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.1 ft (0.35 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.3 ft (0.39 m)

3. After 2 years

   1.4 ft (0.43 m)

4. After 3 years

   1.5 ft (0.45 m)

   full size

About 3 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Moderate

• Water regularly through the first growing season; thereafter, water when the root zone becomes dry.
• Plant with the crown at soil level, not buried beneath soil or mulch.
• Use a light gravel mulch where winter wet is a problem, keeping it clear of the crown.
• Feed container plants lightly in spring; plants in ordinary garden soil rarely need feeding.
• Divide crowded or thinning clumps in spring, keeping several healthy shoots and roots on each division.

Pruning. In early spring, wear gloves and gently comb or snip out dead leaves without damaging fresh growth. Avoid routinely cutting the whole clump to ground level, as recovery can be slow.

Early spring

Remove dead foliage and check the centre of each clump for winter rot.

Spring

Plant new clumps and divide established plants that have become crowded or thin.

Late spring

Give container plants a light feed and check that drainage holes remain clear.

Summer

Water during dry spells, especially in containers, and watch for scorched foliage in exposed sites.

Autumn

Remove unwanted seedlings and keep fallen leaves from smothering the crown.

Winter

Keep pots out of standing water and shelter them from severe freezing winds.

• Edge paths with repeated clumps to soften paving without creating a solid hedge.
• Plant in gravel gardens beside stones and low-growing perennials for fine-textured contrast.
• Use at the front of mixed borders against broad-leaved plants such as bergenias and heucheras.
• Grow in containers where the arching leaves can spill over the rim.

Garden styles it suits: Modern, Modern courtyard, Dry gravel garden, New perennial (prairie), Coastal and Small-space.

Plant it with: Heuchera, Bergenia, Hardy geranium, Japanese anemone and Dwarf conifers.

Wildlife: Dense clumps provide shelter for small invertebrates. The wind-pollinated flowers offer little value to nectar-feeding insects.

• Crown or root rot in wet soil: improve drainage, keep mulch away from the crown and replace badly rotted plants.
• Brown, scorched leaves during drought or intense heat: water deeply and provide afternoon shade in hot locations.
• Winter damage in exposed sites: choose a sheltered position and protect container roots from prolonged freezing.
• Unwanted seedlings: remove young plants promptly or trim off seed heads before the seeds ripen.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. No part is recognised as poisonous, but it is not a food plant and should not be encouraged as something for pets to chew.

• Orange New Zealand sedge (Carex testacea)

  Usually develops conspicuous orange colouring, particularly in sun and cool weather; Carex comans generally remains green or bronze-brown and has a finer, hairlike appearance.

• Leatherleaf sedge (Carex buchananii)

  Typically forms a taller, more upright tuft of copper-brown leaves; Carex comans makes a softer, more spreading mound.

• Weeping brown sedge (Carex flagellifera)

  Usually forms a larger, more strongly cascading clump with longer leaves; Carex comans is generally smaller, with conspicuously fine leaves and curled tips.

The Latin epithet comans means 'hairy' or 'having hair', referring to the plant's fine, hairlike foliage.

Propagation. Divide healthy clumps in spring and replant promptly. It can also be raised from seed, but seedlings may vary in foliage colour and will not reliably reproduce a named cultivar.

Accepted botanical name

Carex comans

Native range

New Zealand North and New Zealand South.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.