Carex testacea Prairie Fire

Carex testacea 'Prairie Fire' is a superb variety of New Zealand sedge that sets the garden ablaze at the end of the season. This medium-sized grass forms flexible clumps of leaves with a fine texture. Its green-bronze or olive-green colour gradually becomes more coppery over time. It transforms in autumn into a flamboyant coppery orange crest, which looks magnificent beside the blue stars of asters or the purple spikes of catmints. It is an accommodating, robust, and reliable perennial, easy to grow in well-drained soil that is not too dry.

Carex testacea is a sedge belonging to the large Cyperaceae family, native to New Zealand. This rhizomatous grass forms a dense, spreading tuft, about 40cm (16in) tall and 50cm (20in) in diameter. It is not invasive. Its persistent leaves are sheathing at the base. They are long, very thin and grass-like, with sharp edges, and are slightly twisted and trailing at their tips. From spring to summer, their colour is a blend of light-green and olive-green, tinged with bronze. With cool autumn nights, they take on pretty brown to coppery orange hues, with the tips of the leaves being more orange. In June-July, brown to black scaly spikes, 1 to 3cm (1in) long, appear, discreetly borne on thin, triangular-sectioned stems that sometimes elongate disproportionately, emerging more than 2m (7ft) above the foliage. A monoecious plant, like all carex, it produces separate male or female flowers, but borne on the same individual.

It is an attractive and versatile 'grass' that will make the garden as appealing in summer as in winter. This resistant perennial can be used in difficult areas, such as for ground cover in urban gardens, where it can play a significant role in soil stabilisation. It is excellent for containers on patios and balconies. However, pots should always be placed in full sun to accentuate the beautiful colours of its foliage. Not demanding and not water-hungry, it can be planted with other grasses (Stipa tenuifolia or S. capillata, Muhlenbergia capillaris), and with perennials such as asters, Gaura, or Verbena bonariensis. Carex testacea 'Prairie Fire' will warm up the garden with its flamboyant orange tones, even at the end of a sunny winter day. Planted en masse along a path or alley, it will highlight and soften its outline. It can also be planted in a mixed border with sturdy ground cover plants in green or silver, such as dwarf artemisias, Stachys, Cerastium, or Iberis sempervirens. For a beautiful wild effect, plant it en masse in a contemporary or rural garden alongside orange-coloured flowers such as 'Marmalade' and 'Tangerine Dream' echinaceas.

With 1000 species of sedges growing worldwide, you are sure to find one that suits your garden. They can be found in all environments where plants grow. Some adapt very easily to many situations and any garden soil, while others must be cultivated in their specific environment. Make your choice!