Carex testacea 'Prairie Fire' (Orange Sedge) – Evergreen Ornamental Grass (3 x 9cm Pots)

Carex testacea 'Prairie Fire' is an evergreen New Zealand sedge whose fine olive leaves turn coppery bronze and orange as the weather cools.

It forms a graceful, arching mound of hair-fine leaves, 30 to 60cm tall and wide, olive green in summer and warming to copper, bronze and orange through autumn and winter. Small brown flower spikes appear in summer but the foliage is the show, and it holds its colour and shape all year.

Give it full sun or partial shade; full sun brings out the strongest bronze and orange tones. It wants well-drained soil that is moist but never waterlogged, and once established it copes well with drought. It is hardy in an average British winter, but like the other bronze New Zealand sedges it dislikes winter wet on heavy ground, so sharp drainage matters. Water until established, then only in long dry spells, and comb out dead leaves by hand in early spring rather than cutting it back. It suits borders, gravel gardens, coastal planting, ground cover and patio containers, and works beautifully along paths and patio edges.

Supplied as three established plants, each in a 9cm pot, ready to pot on into larger containers or plant straight into the border.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Prairie Fire sedge, orange sedge, New Zealand hair sedge
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 30 to 60cm x 30 to 60cm
• Growth Habit: Compact, clump-forming, arching
• Perfect For: Borders, containers, gravel gardens, coastal gardens, ground cover, wildlife gardens
• Foliage: Evergreen, fine and hair-like; olive green maturing to copper-bronze and orange
• Flowering Time: Summer (subtle brown spikes)
• Planting Position: Full sun or partial shade; tolerates coastal and dry sites once established
• Soil Type: Well-drained; moist but never waterlogged
• Hardiness: Fully hardy; needs free-draining soil in winter
• Maintenance: Low
• Seasonal Interest: Year round, strongest colour in autumn and winter
• Type: Evergreen perennial sedge