Description of Carex muskingumensis 'Oehme'

Carex muskingumensis 'Oehme' is a palm sedge with variegated leaves. It’s grown for its tidy, upright look and it copes well with damp soil. In bog gardens it’s useful when you want structure that isn’t a tall reed.

Appearance

Leaves radiate from the stems like little palms, with green and creamy yellow striping. It forms clumps around 60 to 90cm tall. In summer it can produce small sedge flower heads, but the foliage is the main show.

Care Guide

It likes steady moisture and it looks best when it doesn’t dry out in summer.

• Sun: Sun to part shade. Colour is often best with good light.
• Soil: Moist, fertile soil with organic matter.
• Water: Keep damp. It can handle boggy conditions but avoid deep standing water.
• Tidy up: Comb out dead leaves in spring.
• Division: Split clumps in spring if they get crowded.

If you want a sharper edge, plant it in a line and keep the front trimmed to show the base of the stems.

Suitability for Bog Garden

This sedge suits bog gardens as a mid-height structural plant. Use it behind ground covers and in front of taller marginals like pickerel weed and reeds.

It also works near paths because it stays upright. Plant in small drifts to make the leaf texture read from a distance.

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