Chamisso Sedge is a wonderful, common and extremely widespread sedge native to the W/NW parts of the US. Upright growing evergreen clumper to 10″ tall x 10″ wide in a season. The complex flowers are brown awns clustered in orbs at the top of very straight 20″ stems. Adaptable to a wide range of conditions from wet riparian zones to drier upland sites. In the wild it accompanies such perennials as Delphinium trollifolium, to Iris tenax. Good looking year round with just a slightly beat up look after the hardest winters. Spreads moderately fast in rich to average soil. Better year round appearance with a light application of compost. Excellent in a Willamette Valley meadow that is wet in winter and bone dry in summer. Each clump is dense enough to inhibit weed competition. Spreads very lightly by seed. Clumps that lose their luster in summer drought can be irrigated. Good garden performance. Great massed plant on 1′ centers. Oregon native plant.
Carex pachystachya
Family: Cyperaceae Genus:
Plant type: Grass or Grass-like, Herbaceous perennial
Biomes/Growing conditions: Low Water/No Water, Mesic, Oregon Coast, Western Native, Willamette Valley Natives
Sun exposure: Full Sun, Part Shade
USDA Hardiness zone: Zn5a -15º to -20ºF
Foliage color: Dark Green
Foliage season: Evergreen