November 22, 2024

Carex EverColor series (Carex oshimensis): cultivation

This series of grasses offers different foliage that illuminates every corner of the garden: lemon yellow with ‘Everillo’, yellow edged with green with ‘Eversheen’, green striped with cream with ‘Evergold’ or ‘Everlite’…

Characteristics

Soil: indifferent
Spacing: 40 to 50 cm between 2 plants
Planting: from March to May or from September to October
Flowering: in May
Exposure: sun, partial shade or shade
Use: bed, pot, container
Height: 30 to 40 cm

Culture

These undemanding grasses , with evergreen foliage with graphic effects and varied colors, provide structure to beds, planters and pots. Depending on the variety, they like the sun, partial shade as well as shade. Adapt the varieties according to the ground and the exposure.

The sedges of the EverColor series are planted in the spring or fall, in the ground or in a container. The type of soil is indifferent (acidic, limestone, acidic, neutral), because they are not demanding.

  • Dip the cups in a bucket of water to bathe them, facilitate the removal of the clods and dissociate them. 
  • Prepare planting holes at the height of the root ball, then place the root balls at the bottom of the holes.
  • Fill in the gaps with garden soil or a “special planting” soil.
  • Firm the surface then water.

If several feet of sedge are planted, make sure to space them 40 to 50 cm apart, or even more depending on the desired effect: the sedges spread out about 40 cm throughout their culture.

EverColor sedges require very little care. They only need to be divided every five or six years to multiply the feet and prevent them from running out.

Use

In spring, tulip, grape hyacinth or narcissus bulbs, as well as primroses, mix with sedge to bring color to their amazing foliage. All summer long, they bring lightness and graphics to perennial and annual beds, as well as to flower arrangements. In a rock garden or a dry garden, sedges work wonders! Planted by dozen in a bed, their foliage is always in motion. With yellow or red horns, the decorative aspect of their foliage will only be amplified! Together with begonias or SunPatiens impatiens , they make magnificent flower boxes in bloom all summer.

Carex associations EverColor series

Bright and colorful border

The round shape of Carex EverColor ‘Everillo’ (1) is used to underline an aisle border, while giving it exceptional luminosity thanks to its very surprising lemon yellow color that blends perfectly with the flamboyant little side of a row orange-yellow rudbeckias (2) in the background. Between each rudbeckia plant, ‘Mystic Spiers’ sage plants (3) have been added to create a very interesting contrast of colors and shapes. The round rudbeckia flowers pair beautifully with the long stems with deep blue spikes of this variety of sage. The latter, by its verticality and its color, thus becomes a perfect setting for the sedge ‘Everillo’, for a scene as bright as it is harmonious.

Foliage and touches of color to brighten up the balcony terrace

On a terrace or balcony, the very graphic silhouette of the Carex oshimensis EverColor further emphasizes the contemporary side of a tall, geometric-shaped hotpot. The variety ‘Everest’ (1) is chosen here for its clear green foliage edged with white, which perfectly tolerates the pink tints sometimes difficult to associate with a Petunia Easy Wave ‘Pink’ (2) planted at its foot. Next to it, a white Cabaret calibrachoa (3) cascades down the wall of the pot, while in the background a nandina ‘Sensation Twilight’ (4) with foliage speckled with white and pink gives even more charm to this composition. In summer, this exceptionally robust shrub is covered with starry white flowers that will blend gently with those of the petunia.