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Curly sedge

Carex rupestris

Also called Rock Sedge

Curly sedge
Photo: Martin Vavrik, Public domain

Carex rupestris is a small arctic-alpine sedge that forms dense, matted tufts on dry, rocky ground in cold climates. It is best grown cold-hardy and in full sun with sharp drainage, and it is rarely cultivated outside its native range.

Family
Cyperaceae (Cyper family)
Grows as
Grass
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water sparingly; let the soil dry out between waterings, as it prefers dry ground.
Soil
Gritty, free-draining mineral soil or rock garden mix.
Temperature
Hardy to well below freezing; comfortable in cool conditions and suited to cold climates.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Temp. & Subarctic Northern Hemisphere
Climate
temperate

About

Carex rupestris, called the curly sedge and rock sedge (names it shares with other members of its genus), is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to temperate and subarctic North America, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, and Asia.

Where it grows

Carex rupestris is an arctic-alpine species found at higher altitudes. It favours dry ground, heathland, talus slopes, and rocky outcrops and ledges. Carex rupestris subsp. altimontana is found only in the Altai Republic of Russia.

Other Carex plants

Carex alba · Tall Sedge · Black-spike sedge · Asian Shortstem Sedge · Hair-like sedge · Carex curvula · Common Yellow Sedge · Dioecious sedge · Teasel Sedge · Grassland sedge · Carex dolichostachya · Tufted Sedge

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Carex rupestris by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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