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San Diego Sedge
Carex spissa
  
About San Diego Sedge (Carex spissa) 30 Nurseries Carry This Plant A species of sedge known by the common name San Diego sedge. It is native to the southwestern United States and far northern Mexico, where it grows in wet places, sometimes on serpentine soils. This sedge looks somewhat like a cattail. It produces angled stems easily exceeding a meter in height surrounded by leathery grey-green to reddish-green leaves (if drought stressed) up to about 1.2 meters long. The flower cluster is up to 80 centimeters long, with many long reddish brown flower spikes, each holding up to 300 developing fruits.

This is a easy and fast growing plant for full sun and heavy, moist soils. In even part shade, it tends to get weedy and unattractive. Needs plenty of water, so best to grow this in a sunny spot along a creek, seep or other naturally moist area, or in a regularly irrigated area.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Grasses

Size
Size
2 - 4 ft tall
2 - 4 ft wide

Form
Form
Fountain

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
None

Flower Color
Flower Color
Brown, Green, Yellow

Wildlife Supported
 


 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 4 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Low, Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / week once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -10 - 0° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
It is said to have a strong affinity to serpentine soils but is also found in other soil types. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 5.0 - 7.5

Common uses
Common uses
Deer Resistant

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Seep Monkeyflower, Cardinal Monkeyflower, Yerba Mansa, Hedge Nettle, and Juncus spp.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 19, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Wet places

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 10.9" - 35.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.24" - 1.47", Coldest Month: 43.8" - 56.0", Hottest Month: 62.6" - 78.4", Humidity: 0.95" - 24.70", Elevation: 10" - 5665"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Bailey 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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