Gray’s Sedge

Gray’s Sedge
Carex grayi

A distinctive native sedge recognized for its unique star-shaped seed heads that resemble small spiky maces. Bright green arching foliage forms loose clumps, while the unusual seed clusters appear in early summer and persist into fall, adding striking texture and visual interest to moist landscapes. Naturally found in floodplains, wet meadows, woodland edges, and along streams.

Gray’s Sedge tolerates fluctuating moisture levels and performs well in both consistently moist soils and areas that experience periodic flooding.

Growing Conditions

• Height: 2–3 ft
• Spread: Clumping, slowly forming colonies
• Light: Full sun to part shade
• Soil: Moist to wet soils; tolerates clay and organic soils
• Hardiness: Zone 4–8
• Growth Rate: Moderate
• Tolerates seasonal flooding
• Deer resistant

Ideal for rain gardens, wetland restoration, woodland edges, bioswales, and naturalized landscapes where moisture is present. Adds strong ornamental interest with its distinctive seed heads.

Ecological Value

• Provides shelter for insects, amphibians, and small wildlife
• Supports wetland biodiversity and beneficial insects
• Stabilizes soils in moist or flood-prone areas
• Adds structural diversity to wet meadow and riparian plant communities

Larval Host Plant For
Caterpillars of several native sedge-feeding moth species.

Companion Species

• Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor)
• Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
• Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
• Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
• Bottlebrush Sedge (Carex hystericina)
• Canada Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis)
• Dark Green Bulrush (Scirpus atrovirens)

Planting to Protect
Restoring to Thrive
Origin Native Plants

3.5 inch Pots