Carex pansa
California meadow sedge
Fine-textured, creeping, evergreen colony-forming sedge. Has lustrous dark green foliage that grows 6-12” high. Slender flowers emerge in the spring just above the foliage, at first creamy white but maturing to golden tan. Flowers are noticeable but not showy. Tolerates a wide variety of soils from sand to clay. Even grows in dune sand in first-exposure coastal conditions. Best in full sun to part shade. With a hard freeze, the green foliage can blush coppery brown. Native to coastal California from the Channel Islands north to British Columbia.
Uses: Carex pansa remains one of our favorite ground cover grasses for making natural lawns and meadows. As a lawn, occasional mowings, that is, 2 to 4 per year, will result in a very fine alternative natural lawn that is superior to pollution-causing turf lawns. We use Carex pansa on the edge of meadows, around walks, and around pop-up sprinkler heads to allow sprinklers to spray over this grass to other taller meadow grasses. Tolerates seasonal wetness and can be used in bioswales and rain gardens. A creeping sedge that’s always well behaved. Fully drought-tolerant once established. Will not aggressively sneak into borders and adjacent plants.
Combines well with almost any other grass, particularly other sedges, Festuca mairei, Pennisetum spathiolatum, the Muhlenbergias.
Origin: Our collection comes from famous California grass ecologist David Amme. Our first plants were acquired in the late 80's and David's clone has proved itself worth of western gardens for almost 25 years. It is propagated from seed and division.
Fertilization:
New plantings of Carex pansa should be fertilized every 4 weeks with a formulation of 16-6-8 or equivalent until the plantings have filled in.
Once established, Carex pansa needs very little or no fertilizer. Highly trafficked plantings benefit from additional feedings and supplemental water. Organic fertilizers are fine to use but tend to be lower in nitrogen. In this case, more frequent applications may be necessary.
Details:
BOTANICAL NAME: Carex Pansa
COMMON NAMES: California Meadow Sedge
CATEGORY/FAMILY: Cyperaceae
NATIVE: California Coast
WINTER HARDINESS: USDA 7-9
HABIT: Creeping 6-8″ high. Spreads from rhizomes
FOLIAGE COLOR & TEXTURE: Lustrous medium green. Fine textured
SEASONAL FOLIAGE APPEARANCE: Evergreen with coppery winter highlights
FLOWERING CHARACTERISTICS: Noticeable whitish flowers in spring. Matures to brown seeds heads
FOLIAGE HEIGHT/FLOWER HEIGHT: Flowers 4-6″ above leaves on arching stems
SUN EXPOSURE: Sun to part shade
SOIL ADAPTABILITY OR PREFERENCES: Tolerates sand to clay
WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant. Best with moderate water
DESERT ADAPTABILITY: Tolerates high desert with light shade and ample moisture. Not rec. for low desert
COASTAL EXPOSURE: 1st-3rd
NATURALIZING POTENTENTIAL: None
POLLINATOR & WILDLIFE VALUE: Habitat
LANDSCAPE VALUE: Natural lawns, ground cover
PESTS & REPORTED PROBLEMS: None
SPACING: 6 - 12 - 18″ or closer if your budget allows.
MAINTENANCE TIPS: Cut back anytime when used as lawn or path. 2-4″ as meadow. 1 or 2x per year in spring or fall
California meadow sedge
Fine-textured, creeping, evergreen colony-forming sedge. Has lustrous dark green foliage that grows 6-12” high. Slender flowers emerge in the spring just above the foliage, at first creamy white but maturing to golden tan. Flowers are noticeable but not showy. Tolerates a wide variety of soils from sand to clay. Even grows in dune sand in first-exposure coastal conditions. Best in full sun to part shade. With a hard freeze, the green foliage can blush coppery brown. Native to coastal California from the Channel Islands north to British Columbia.
Uses: Carex pansa remains one of our favorite ground cover grasses for making natural lawns and meadows. As a lawn, occasional mowings, that is, 2 to 4 per year, will result in a very fine alternative natural lawn that is superior to pollution-causing turf lawns. We use Carex pansa on the edge of meadows, around walks, and around pop-up sprinkler heads to allow sprinklers to spray over this grass to other taller meadow grasses. Tolerates seasonal wetness and can be used in bioswales and rain gardens. A creeping sedge that’s always well behaved. Fully drought-tolerant once established. Will not aggressively sneak into borders and adjacent plants.
Combines well with almost any other grass, particularly other sedges, Festuca mairei, Pennisetum spathiolatum, the Muhlenbergias.
Origin: Our collection comes from famous California grass ecologist David Amme. Our first plants were acquired in the late 80's and David's clone has proved itself worth of western gardens for almost 25 years. It is propagated from seed and division.
Fertilization:
New plantings of Carex pansa should be fertilized every 4 weeks with a formulation of 16-6-8 or equivalent until the plantings have filled in.
Once established, Carex pansa needs very little or no fertilizer. Highly trafficked plantings benefit from additional feedings and supplemental water. Organic fertilizers are fine to use but tend to be lower in nitrogen. In this case, more frequent applications may be necessary.
Details:
BOTANICAL NAME: Carex Pansa
COMMON NAMES: California Meadow Sedge
CATEGORY/FAMILY: Cyperaceae
NATIVE: California Coast
WINTER HARDINESS: USDA 7-9
HABIT: Creeping 6-8″ high. Spreads from rhizomes
FOLIAGE COLOR & TEXTURE: Lustrous medium green. Fine textured
SEASONAL FOLIAGE APPEARANCE: Evergreen with coppery winter highlights
FLOWERING CHARACTERISTICS: Noticeable whitish flowers in spring. Matures to brown seeds heads
FOLIAGE HEIGHT/FLOWER HEIGHT: Flowers 4-6″ above leaves on arching stems
SUN EXPOSURE: Sun to part shade
SOIL ADAPTABILITY OR PREFERENCES: Tolerates sand to clay
WATER NEEDS: Drought tolerant. Best with moderate water
DESERT ADAPTABILITY: Tolerates high desert with light shade and ample moisture. Not rec. for low desert
COASTAL EXPOSURE: 1st-3rd
NATURALIZING POTENTENTIAL: None
POLLINATOR & WILDLIFE VALUE: Habitat
LANDSCAPE VALUE: Natural lawns, ground cover
PESTS & REPORTED PROBLEMS: None
SPACING: 6 - 12 - 18″ or closer if your budget allows.
MAINTENANCE TIPS: Cut back anytime when used as lawn or path. 2-4″ as meadow. 1 or 2x per year in spring or fall