The Fox Red Curly Sedge, otherwise known as the Carex Buchananii or Leatherleaf Sedge, Carex ‘Buchanni’, Curly Top Sedge, is a rather well known ornamental grass plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and slow growth, this ornamental grass will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its bronze colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Fox Red Curly Sedge Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your Fox Red Curly Sedge you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Fox Red Curly Sedge grows best with regular watering to keep the soil moist during the dry season. Reduce watering once the plant is established.
- Light: Keep your Carex Buchananii in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Fox Red Curly Sedge in soil with moist but well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Fox Red Curly Sedge is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Fox Red Curly Sedge belongs to the Cyperaceae family, the genus Carex and the species Buchananii, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Carex Buchananii (KAH-reks bu-kan-AN-ee-eye).
As with other Carex’s, the Fox Red Curly Sedge is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Fox Red Curly Sedge is a plant native to New Zealand.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Fox Red Curly Sedge. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Carex Buchananii will be most used to the heat zones in the 5 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Fox Red Curly Sedge is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Fox Red Curly Sedge? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Carex Buchananii can grow up to 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) in 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) and 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm) in 2′ – 3′ (60cm – 90cm).
These dimensions make the Fox Red Curly Sedge a relatively medium ornamental grass compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 30″ – 36″ (75cm – 90cm) free so the Fox Red Curly Sedge can spread to its best extent.
Watering
In terms of watering, the Fox Red Curly Sedge is a fairly complicated plant to take care of. This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Carex Buchananii grows best with regular watering to keep the soil moist during the dry season. Reduce watering once the plant is established.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Fox Red Curly Sedge in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Fox Red Curly Sedge since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Fox Red Curly Sedge prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Fox Red Curly Sedge requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this ornamental grass will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Carex Buchananii in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Fox Red Curly Sedge will be present year round in your garden. But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
You can expect your Fox Red Curly Sedge to flower around the summer months from July to September (summer).
The Fox Red Curly Sedge produces some beautiful brown, silver and green flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Fox Red Curly Sedge have a beautiful bronze color during most of the year.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Fox Red Curly Sedge is well known for its tolerance to animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Carex Buchananii will be fine.
Garden
Does your Fox Red Curly Sedge have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Carex Buchananii owners agree that this ornamental grass will look great in most cottage, asian/zen contemporary, and rustic gardens of all types. Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, coastal garden, gravel and rock garden, and in prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Fox Red Curly Sedge’s best location within your garden is in ground covers, banks and slopes, beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a very wet areas, mass planting, ground cover, green roof, container, coastal exposure, border, or a water garden.
Companion Plants
Fox Red Curly Sedge’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Clethra, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Forsythia will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Fox Red Curly Sedge, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
