Weeping brown sedge is grown for its season-long display of delicate, beautiful bronze-colored foliage. It is particularly prized in gardens for its cascading growth pattern. This sedge from New Zealand has lovely grassy-like leaves that are brown all year round.
Here is some information on this remarkable plant, including how to take care of it in your garden. Read on to discover more.
General Information
Weeping brown sedges will spread to be approximately 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide at maturity, reaching a maximum blooming height of 20 inches. The mature plant will have a spread of 18 inches. It has a medium growth rate, and a projected lifespan under ideal conditions is around seven years.
Weeping brown sedge is a perennial (evergreen, in milder climates) that retains its shape and leaves throughout the year. It forms dense clumps and is an excellent option for creating contrast in rock gardens, containers, and borders. Because its leaves are wide all the way to the ground, facer plants in front of it are not required. It is also an excellent plant to use for erosion control.
Care and Maintenance
The weeping brown sedge can survive drought conditions and requires little maintenance. This ornamental sedge has a limited lifespan but can be propagated by division in the early spring. In favorable circumstances, it is also capable of reseeding, which, in turn, makes it possible to replace older plants with newer ones.
Sunlight
There is no specific light requirement for the growth of weeping brown sedges. Plants in cooler zones should be placed in full sun to half sun, while those in warmer locales should be placed in shaded garden areas for optimal growth.
Soil Requirement
Weeping brown sedges will grow in sandy, clay, and loam moist but well-drained soils.
Fertilizing
Although weeping brown sedge seldom needs fertilizer, you may feed your plant in the early summer with light nitrogen plant food if you want to observe speedier and healthier growth.
Watering Frequency
Weeping brown sedge requires medium watering, especially in the summer and during dry spells. Watering is not necessary in the winter when the plant is dormant.
How to Use in Landscape
A weeping brown sedge is an excellent choice for pots and containers and is a terrific option for any garden. Depending on the height and shape of the other plants used in the container planting, it may be used either as a filler or a thriller in the spiller-thriller-filler container combination. Remember that plants may need more regular waterings in outdoor pots and baskets than they would in the yard or garden.
Landscape Applications
- Mass Planting
- Border Edging
- General Garden Use
- Groundcover
- Naturalizing and Woodland Gardens
- Container Planting
Companion Plants
1. Heuchera ‘Caramel’ (Coral Bells)
The robust coral bell cultivar ‘Caramel’ has distinctive apricot leaves and pale pink blooms. The leaves start gray-red in the spring and become apricot or caramel-colored by summer. Small, light pink flowers on thin stems rising above the leaf mound, usually to a height of 18″, bloom in spires in early June (later than other heucheras).
The nectar-rich blossoms also make lovely cut bouquets and attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Coral bells are a fantastic choice for woods, rock gardens, pots, borders, and ground covers since they grow slowly and do best when planted in late autumn or early spring.
2. Pennisetum orientale ‘Karley Rose’ (Oriental Fountain Grass)
Asia is the home of the warm-season fountain grass Pennisetum orientale. The ‘Karley Rose’ stands out with darker, fuller, smoky rose-purple flower spikes, a more extended bloom period that lasts into September, and improved winter hardiness.
Oriental grasses like full sun, although ‘Karley Rose’ can also handle partial shade. Sandy loams with consistent moisture and adequate drainage are preferred. Established plants can withstand a little drought.
Flower spikes are 2½ to 3 feet tall, high above the foliage. Early June to early August is the flowering season, and flower spikes last for a very long time before gradually vanishing. The foliage turns yellowish-tan in the autumn and often stays beautiful into the winter, making them the ideal specimen, group, or mass. Additionally, they provide texture, color, and contrast to borders, foundations, and open spaces.
3. Achillea millefolium ‘Pink Grapefruit’ (Yarrow)
The robust and compact yarrow cultivar known as ‘Pink Grapefruit’ has masses of long-lasting clusters of vivid, deep rose blooms that gradually fade to pinkish-white as they age. The bright dusty-pink flat umbel blooms complement the plant’s fragrant, green foliage resembling ferns. Yarrow is a fantastic choice for a cutting garden, so look for it in wildflower mixes.
Yarrow enjoys a sunny garden area where it will remain compact and produce many flowers. Yarrow is adaptable to sandy, loamy, or clay soils. Once established, yarrow can withstand dry conditions. Stop watering entirely during times of natural rainfall, particularly if you are receiving up to or more than 1 inch of water per week.
4. Sedum telephium ‘Purple Emperor’ (Stonecrop)
The hybrid perennial sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ typically forms 15-inch, upright clumps. Large flattened blooms or cymes (3 to 6 inches wide) covered in masses of small, star-shaped, dark pinkish-purple flowers grow on stalks with dark purple, meaty, succulent leaves.
It is relatively simple to grow ‘Purple Emperor’ sedums. Poor, well-draining, sandy to rocky soil is ideal for ‘Purple Emperor’ plants. They will put forth too much growth and become weak and floppy if they grow in very rich soil. They like moderate water and full sun. To promote the development of a robust root system, they should get more water throughout their first growing season.
They make excellent cut flowers and garden borders since they are particularly alluring to pollinators like butterflies and bees.
