I am designing a low maintenance landscape. I’m interested in using one of the Carex cultivars that have golden/variegated leaves (Carex dolichostachya ‘Kaga Nishiki’, Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’, Carex morrowi ‘Ice Dance’, or Carex hachijoensis ‘Evergold’). I would like to use a species that does not need to be cut down each year. Can you advise if any of these would look good all year without cutting back in the winter?
According to The Plant Care Manual by Stefan Buczacki (Crown, 1993), most sedges (such as Carex) require little maintenance. Even those with tall flower stems don’t need staking, and only need their dead flower stems removed in spring, or if damaged by rain or wind. In general, foliage may be trimmed lightly in spring as needed.
Rick Darke’s Encyclopedia of Grasses for Livable Landscapes (Timber, 2007) says that Carex dolichostaya ‘Kaga Nishiki’ will form “a symmetrical fountainlike mound, eventually to 2 feet in diameter. Long-lived and durable, suited for groundcover sweeps. Fully evergreen into Zone 6. Prefers fertile organic soils and light shade or full sun with adequate moisture. Fairly drought-tolerant in shade once established.”
Darke says that Carex hashijoensis is similar to Carex oshimensis but not as cold-hardy. The variegated cultivar you mention, ‘Evergold,’ is actually a cultivar of C. oshimensis, not C. hachijoensis, but there is confusion in the nursery trade.
Carex morrowi ‘Ice Dance’ is described as “strongly rhizomatous but not so fast as to be a nuisance. A superb, self-repairing groundcover.” There are other cultivars, such as C. morrowi ‘Gilt’ (leaf margins cream-white), ‘Gold Band’ (leaf margins cream-yellow), and ‘Variegata’ (a catch-all name for otherwise unnamed variegated selections).
You may find this of interest: Darke’s section on cutting back grasses and sedges states that “most grasses require little maintenance other than being cut back once yearly, and even this is done more for neatness than for the needs of the grass. […] Many evergreen grasses and sedges do not need to be cut back yearly and may grow attractively for a number of years with just minor grooming. Old growth or discolored foliage is often easily removed by gently combing plants by hand.”