Sparkler Sedge

Carex phyllocephala 'Sparkler'

With so many of older Central Texas neighborhoods, finding plants that will grow in the shade of our beautiful native live oaks is key. And sparkler sedge makes a great choice among all of the many deep green choices of our normal shade-loving plant palette.

Sparkler has beautiful white and green striped variegated leaves, which are whorled around the central stem, creating the same effect as a 4th of July sparkler.

As with most shade-loving plants, it needs a little extra water, but really not that much. Shady areas of the garden tend to lose less water anyway, so you really don’t have to water them any more than the rest of the yard.

Sparkler sedge does best in bright shade, with perhaps only a few hours of morning sun. You may see it listed as partial sun” in some references but that most definitely does not apply to the intensity of sun in the Southwest. It stays fairly small.