Native across much of North America, Clustered Field Sedge (Carex praegracilis), also known as Western Meadow Sedge, is a grass-like herbaceous perennial that is typically found in wet (or seasonally wet) environments, including meadows and wetlands.
We love using Clustered Field Sedge for California lawn turf replacement projects (including turf rebate projects that are offered in many areas of California). It is hardier and needs significantly less water than typical lawn turfgrasses, and it spreads readily via rhizomes.
Unlike high-maintenance turfgrass, Clustered Field Sedge can be mowed every 4-6 weeks for a traditional-looking lawn that also tolerates moderate foot traffic. Mowing also encourages side-shoots that help it spread.
Clustered Field Sedge can also go unmowed and grow longer. With a naturally soft texture, it has a naturally lush, dreamy appearance (especially since it attracts many butterflies!). Unmowed, it looks stunning with companion plants along a garden path border or as a meadow-like lawn. Clustered Field Sedge can also be used in damp or poorly draining areas, rain gardens, and between permeable pavers.
Like other sedges, Clustered Field Sedge has sharply triangular stems that grow from a network of rhizomes. In spring, they produce stems of inconspicuous but attractive flower clusters in a dense, semi-cylindrical form.
Interestingly, Clustered Field Sedge is often dioecious, where an individual plant will bear either male or female flowers, but not both.
Clustered Field Sedge tolerates many soil types with sufficient moisture, including saline and sodic soil and alkaline substrates.
Carex praegracilis - Clustered Field Sedge
Optimal Growth Conditions
- Mature Height: 2 - 4 feet (this sedge drapes over itself, so it typically will be 6 - 8 inches high, in practicality)
- Mature Width: 2 - 4 feet
- Sun: Full Sun
- Water: Moderate
- Soil Drainage: Fast, Medium, Slow
Geographic Appropriateness
- USDA Zone: Zones 7 - 10
- Sunset Zone: Zones 7 - 9, 11, 14 - 24
- Native Sites: Moist and seasonally moist areas such as meadows, seeps, stream banks, and lake/pond shoreline.
Additional Landscaping Information
- Characteristics: Grass/Grass-Like, Flowering, Evergreen, California Native, Deer Resistant, Mounding
- Special Uses: Containers, Groundcover, Lawn Alternative, Rain Gardens