Groundcover · Deer-resistant
Cedar Sedge
Carex planostachys
Also called: Cedar Woods Sedge
A fine, arching native sedge that forms a soft green carpet in the dry shade beneath cedars and oaks — one of the very few things that will grow, and hold soil, there.
Growing & care
Purpose-built for dry shade with root competition. No mowing needed; spreads slowly into a lawn-like cover. Established plants need no water.
Bloom season
In bloom: Mar–Apr · Colors: green
Where to buy
Look for cedar sedge (Carex planostachys) at: native Texas nurseries.
Sources
Range, nomenclature, and the USDA symbol above come from the federal plant record for this species. Check it yourself:
Good for
Plant it with
Natives that pair with cedar sedge
Same conditions, same uses — species that share cedar sedge's growing requirements and belong in the same bed.
Horseherb
Calyptocarpus vialis
A soft, low groundcover that quietly replaces lawn in the shade where turf fails, threading tiny yellow flowers through its foliage for pollinators nearly year-round..
Buffalograss
Bouteloua dactyloides
North America's true native turf grass — a fine, soft, blue-green sod that forms a low lawn on a fraction of the water Bermuda or St.
Fragrant Sumac
Rhus aromatica
A low, spreading shrub that blazes orange-red in fall and holds slopes with its suckering roots.
Frogfruit
Phyla nodiflora
A flat, spreading mat that takes light foot traffic and blooms with tiny pollinator flowers — the leading native lawn substitute for sun to part shade in Texas..
Coralberry
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
A modest suckering shrub for shade that comes into its own in fall, when the arching branches string themselves with clusters of coral-pink berries the birds strip by spring..
Gregg's Dalea
Dalea greggii
A silvery, trailing groundcover that spills over walls and banks and dots itself with small purple flowers.