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Clustered Field Sedge
Carex praegracilis
  
About Clustered Field Sedge (Carex praegracilis) 66 Nurseries Carry This Plant Clustered Field Sedge (Carex praegracilis) is a species in the Cyperaceae (Sedge) family. It is native to much of North America, from Alaska across southern Canada and throughout the continental United States, except for the southeastern region.

It grows in wet and seasonally wet environments in a number of habitats, including meadows and wetlands; it is often riparian or semi-riparian in the drier parts of its range. It tolerates disturbed habitat such as roadsides and thrives in alkaline substrates.

This sedge produces sharply triangular stems from a network of thin, coarse rhizomes. The flower cluster is a dense, somewhat cylindrical array of flower spikes.

The plant is often dioecious, meaning that an individual plant will bear male or female flowers in its flower clusters but not both. It spreads readily by rhizomes. In the garden, it can be useful in poorly draining areas, in the spaces between pavers, and as a replacement for non-native lawn grasses. It has a soft texture, can be mowed, and requires significantly less water than turfgrass.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Grass

Size
Size
2 - 3.5 ft tall
3.5 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright, Mounding

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Flower Color
Flower Color
Green

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring

Wildlife Supported
 


Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Low, Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -5° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerant of a variety of soils as long as sufficient moisture is provided. Tolerates Saline Soil,Tolerates Sodic Soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.0

Common uses
Common uses
Groundcovers, Deer Resistant

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Can be used with other plants of moist or semi-moist areas, including Marsh Elder (Iva hayesiana), Alkali Heath (Frankenia salina), Cardinal Monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis), Scarlet Lobelia (Lobelia cardinalis), Yerba Santa (Anemopsis californica), Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), Marsh Fleabane (Pluchea odorata), Iris spp., Dwarf Juniper (Juniperus communis), Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia spp.), Strawberry (Fragaria spp.), and Rushes (Juncus spp.)

Maintenance
Maintenance
Quite pest-resistant. Can be mowed to the ground to create a lawn-like appearance; it is a useful lawn substitute. Mowing every 4 to 6 weeks encourages production of side shoots from the base of stems.

Propagation
Propagation?
Propogate by bare root divisions.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Moist and semi-moist areas such as meadows, seeps, stream banks and lake/pond shoreline

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.8" - 95.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 2.82", Coldest Month: 21.5" - 56.7", Hottest Month: 43.3" - 82.7", Humidity: 0.39" - 34.60", Elevation: -16" - 10745"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Expressway Sedge, Slim Sedge


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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