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Leather Leaf Sedge Carex buchananii

Flower Season
  • Spring
  • Summer
Mature Size
2' 14"
Height: 12" - 2'
Spread: 12" - 14"
Proven Selections
  • Details

    Features

    Colored leaves have a curlicue top; perfect for containers, window boxes and beds

    Foliage Interest
    Deadheading Not Necessary
    Grass: 
    Grass

    Characteristics

    Plant Type: 
    Annual
    Height Category: 
    Medium
    Garden Height: 
    12 - 24 Inches
    Spacing: 
    12 - 14 Inches
    Spread: 
    12 - 14 Inches
    Foliage Colors: 
    Brown
    Foliage Shade: 
    Bronze
    Habit: 
    Upright
    Container Role: 
    Thriller

    Plant Needs

    Light Requirement: 
    Part Sun to Sun

    The optimum amount of sun or shade each plant needs to thrive: Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours).

    Maintenance Category: 
    Easy
    Bloom Time: 
    Grown for Foliage
    Hardiness Zones: 
    7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
    Water Category: 
    Average
    Uses: 
    Container
    Uses: 
    Grass
    Uses: 
    Landscape
    Uses Notes: 

    Versatile foliage is great used in combinations

    Maintenance Notes: 

    Leather Leaf Sedge is a cool-season grass. Where temperatures get colder than zero degrees F, the plants should be treated as annuals. Once the grass turns brown it can either be removed immediately or removed in the spring. It should not be expected to live through the winter and begin growing again in the spring.

    In areas where winter temperatures remain above zero degrees it should be considered a perennial and the following information should be useful. Cool-season grasses put on most of their growth in spring before temperatures begin exceeding 75 degrees Fahrenheit and in the fall when temperatures cool down. They generally maintain good color through the summer but won't grow much when it is hot.
    Cut back cool season grasses in very early spring.

    Cool season grasses tend to look good even as the weather cools. Leave their foliage in place until spring and then as soon as the snow is gone cut them back. Leave about 1/3 of the plant in place. Trimming cool season grasses too harshly can irreparably harm the plant.

    Divide cool season grasses in spring or early fall. Cool season grasses are actively growing in spring and fall. These grasses can be transplanted at either time of the year but early spring is probably the best time to divide. If you do divide them in the fall, be careful that the freeze/thaw cycles of winter don't heave the plants out of the ground, this happened to a couple of my coral bells last winter.

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