Leavenworth’s Sedge Carex leavenworthii is a clumping, evergreen, perennial, petite sedge (6” – 16” tall) with slender leaves of light to medium green that lend a fine texture to the landscape. It occurs in mixed oak forests, dry sandy woods, woodland edges, dry grasslands, roadsides, and lawns of the southeastern U.S. Leavenworth’s Sedge grows best in full to part sun and moist to dry soils. It is adaptable to different soil types, and established plants are heat and drought tolerant.
Leavenworth’s Sedge produces small, dense fruiting spikelets in Spring; Birds eat the seeds. Use it as a woodland groundcover, a lawn substitute, or massed with spring-blooming flowers, low growing bulbs or ferns. It can be mowed if not cut too low or too frequently. Leavenworth’s Sedge is a good substitute for Liriope muscari.