The Frosty Curls Sedge, otherwise known as the Carex Albula or Japanese Sedge ‘Evercream’, Variegated Sedges, Carex oshimensis EverColor® ‘Evercream’ PPAF, 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 gray-green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, taking care of your Frosty Curls Sedge is not too difficult – as long as you follow our guidelines in this Frosty Curls Sedge Care Guide. Now let’s get started.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Frosty Curls Sedge are the following:
- Water: The Frosty Curls Sedge needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Carex Albula in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Frosty Curls Sedge in soil with moist but well-draining to well draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Frosty Curls Sedge this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Frosty Curls Sedge belongs to the Cyperaceae family, the genus Carex and the species Oshimensis, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Carex Albula (KAH-reks al-BEW-luh).
As with other Carex’s, the Frosty Curls Sedge is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Frosty Curls Sedge is a plant native to the Japan.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Frosty Curls 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 Albula will be most used to the heat zones in the 1 – 12 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7b, 7a, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b and the ideal climate zone is between 3, 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 Frosty Curls Sedge is a relatively slow grower, which makes things easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Frosty Curls Sedge actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Carex Albula can grow up to 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) and 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm).
These dimensions make the Frosty Curls 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 20″ (50cm) free so the Frosty Curls Sedge can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Frosty Curls Sedge is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Carex Albula needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Frosty Curls 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.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Frosty Curls Sedge is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
The Frosty Curls Sedge’s ideal soil potting mix is made 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 Frosty Curls 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 Albula 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 Frosty Curls 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 Frosty Curls Sedge to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
The Frosty Curls Sedge produces some beautiful brown, or brown/copper flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Frosty Curls Sedge have a beautiful gray-green color during most of the year.
You can expect the leaves from your Carex Albula to be around (> 6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Frosty Curls Sedge is well known for its tolerance to animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Carex Albula will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Frosty Curls Sedge? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Carex Albula 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 gravel and rock garden styles.
In particular, the Frosty Curls Sedge’s best location within your garden is in edging, beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a poolside, coastal exposure, mass planting, rock garden, border, container, erosion control, water garden, green roof, or a woodland garden.
Companion Plants
Frosty Curls Sedge’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Heuchera x ‘Plum Pudding’, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Houttuynia cordata will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
And we’ve come to an end. Fortunately, that’s everything you need to know about your Frosty Curls Sedge to keep it safe and sound in your garden or home. Enjoy planting!
