New Zealand hair sedge

New Zealand hair sedge: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Low, dense clump about 35 cm tall; the long leaves arch over and spread to 50 cm wide.

Leaves

Hair-fine, soft and arching; bronze to copper-brown in ‘Bronze’, silvery green with pale tips in ‘Frosted Curls’.

Flowers

Inconspicuous brownish spikes in June and July, among the leaves.

Stem

Fine and three-sided, as in most sedges.

Roots

A fibrous clump without runners; it sometimes self-seeds.

Flowering: June–July · Plants: March–May · Pruning: March–April

Why grow it?

• Evergreen: soft, hair-fine leaves that look good all year.
• A graceful, arching shape that spills beautifully over the edge of a pot or a low wall.
• Brown and silvery-green forms to combine with other foliage colours.
• Ideal for pots, containers and the front of a border.
• Small and compact: also suitable for a small garden or a balcony.
• Little work: just comb it out in spring.

New Zealand hair sedge: where does it grow best?

• Sun or partial shade; brown forms colour most warmly in sun.
• Light, free-draining soil: sand or loam, acid to chalky.
• Normally moist: do not let it dry out in summer, but no wet feet in winter.
• Looks best in a raised spot, such as a pot, a low wall or a bank, where the leaves can hang down.
• Allow 40–50 cm between plants.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand or loam

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal

Size

0.35 m tall, 0.5 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -15 °C)

Goes well with

• Coral bells: Rounded, coloured leaves beside the hair-fine foliage, also in a pot.
• Heather: Together in a winter container on the patio.
• Ivy: Evergreen trails that spill over the edge of a pot with the sedge.
• Hardy geranium: Purple or pink summer flowers among the fine foliage at the front of a border.

New Zealand hair sedge: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–May.

1. Plant in March, April or May, so that it is well rooted before winter.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and mix in some compost; in heavy soil, add gravel.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot and firm the soil.
4. Leave 40–50 cm between plants.
5. In a pot, use good potting compost with some gravel or perlite and make sure there is a drainage hole.
6. Water straight away and during dry spells in the first summer.

Care

Watering

In the garden, in long dry spells; in a pot, regularly, but never leave it standing in a saucer of water.

Feeding

Not needed in the garden. In a pot, a little organic fertiliser in April.

Tidying

In March–April, comb the dead leaves out of the clump with your fingers or a wide-toothed comb.

Repotting

Every two or three years in spring, move it into a slightly larger pot or divide it.

Rejuvenating

Older clumps go brown and bare in the middle: divide or replace them.

Tip: Grow it high up, in a pot, on a low wall or at the top of a bank: then the hair-fine leaves cascade down like a waterfall.

New Zealand hair sedge: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March–April.

When: It is not cut back. In March–April, simply comb out the dead leaves.

How:

• Run your fingers, a wide-toothed comb or a small rake through the clump to remove loose, dead leaves.
• Cut off only leaves that are truly withered, at the base.
• Never cut the clump down: it recovers poorly.

Caution: The brown forms are not dead: that is their natural colour.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

In April–May, lift a clump or take it out of its pot and split it into a few pieces with roots; replant straight away and water.

Seed

Sow ripe seed in spring in pots and keep it moist; the colour of the seedlings may differ a little from the parent plant.

New Zealand hair sedge: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −15 °C: protect young plants.

• Hardy to about −15 °C: no problem in most Belgian winters.
• Wet soil in winter is more dangerous than frost: make sure the soil drains freely.
• Leave the clump standing; the leaves protect the heart of the plant.
• In a pot: in hard frost move it against a wall, wrap the pot and raise it on feet.

Diseases and pests

• Root rot: After a wet winter the clump rots at the base. Plant in free-draining soil and never leave pots standing in water.
• Bare centre: Old clumps go brown and bare in the middle. Divide them in spring.
• Drying out: In a pot it dries out quickly in summer and the leaf tips wither. Water regularly.
• Seedlings: It sometimes self-seeds into gravel or between paving. Weed out or move the seedlings while young.

Through the year

• January: Leave standing. Protect pots in hard frost.
• March: Comb out dead leaves.
• April: Plant, divide or repot. Give pots a little organic fertiliser.
• May: Plant. Comb out the last dead leaves.
• June: Inconspicuous flowers. Water pots regularly.
• July: Water in dry spells, especially in pots.
• August: Water in dry spells.
• September: Look for self-sown seedlings.
• November: Raise pots on feet.
• December: Evergreen foliage in the winter garden.

Did you know?

• The species name comans is Latin for hairy or long-haired, after the hair-fine leaves.
• Sedges belong to the sedge family, Cyperaceae, like papyrus, so they are not true grasses.
• Because the leaves grow longer than the clump is tall, the plant looks like a head of hair, hence the name hair sedge.