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Carex brevior shortbeak sedge
shortbeak sedge
Characteristics
Descriptions
Light Requirements
sun, part-sun, part-shade
Soil Moisture
dry, moist, wet
Soil Description
neutral, alkaline, average, loam, clay, sand
Height
12"-36"
Recommended Spacing
12"-18"
Bloom Time
April, May
Bloom Color
green
Hardiness Zone
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Description
Carex brevior is a medium- to fine-textured, clumping sedge that adapts to a range of landscape situations. Its natural distribution in the central U.S and Northern Plains is widespread, with populations east and south of its primary range likely being introductions. Small oval-shaped spikelets cluster near the tips of the flowering stems and rise above the foliage in spring. Shortbeak sedge is versatile and lends itself as a filler or foundation in meadow or prairie plantings, in rain gardens, or in transitional areas in managed landscapes. Use it at the base of slopes where water tends to pool or in distubed areas to help reduce erosion.
Cultivation
Carex brevior is often found growing in dry, disturbed areas. It is highly adaptable, and will thrive in full sun savanna and prairie environments, in open woodlands, as well as in floodplains and stream margins with consistently wet soil. Its wetland indicator status is FAC, reflecting its occurrence in both wetland and non-wetland habitats. As such, it's a good candidate for stormwater features like rain gardens and bioswales where conditions fluctuate between wet and dry. Like all members of the genus Carex, shortbeak sedge is a cool-season plant; transplanting or dividing is best done when it's actively growing in spring or fall.
Recommended Spacing
Space plants 12"-18" on center.
Shortbeak sedge has short rhizomes, so it remains in a relatively contained clump.
Companion Plants
Shortbeak sedge is a natural element of a meadow or prairie planting, where it's happy growing with other similar sedges (e.g., Carex bicknellii) and grasses like Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama), Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), and Sporobolus heterolepis (prairie dropseed). The cool-season grass Koeleria macrantha (prairie junegrass) gives good coverage with the sedges early in the growing season. Add showy flowering species that provide color and pollinator support at various times, like Echinacea pallida (pale purple coneflower) in spring, Liatris aspera (tall blazing star) in late summer and early fall, and Symphyotrichum oblongifolium (aromatic aster) in fall.
Additional Notes
The seeds of shortbeak sedge are eaten by birds, and several insect species feed on the foliage. Carex brevior has been used traditionally by the Iroquois as a treatment during childbirth.
Pricing & Availability
Would you like your plants shipped later? You may choose to do so in the shopping cart.
Note: Early spring shipments might include plants that have not yet broken dormancy, or have not been vernalized and will be frost-tender. Please use your best judgment when selecting your preferred ship week.
Note: Early spring shipments might include plants that have not yet broken dormancy, or have not been vernalized and will be frost-tender. Please use your best judgment when selecting your preferred ship week.
Did you know? When plants are available from multiple growers, we list growers closest to your location first.
Why choose plants from the nearest grower? Choosing a the grower closest to you makes it more likely the plants are consistent with your ecoregion and better adapted to your location. In addition, shipping plants shorter distances typically uses fewer resources, something we can all get behind!
Why choose plants from the nearest grower? Choosing a the grower closest to you makes it more likely the plants are consistent with your ecoregion and better adapted to your location. In addition, shipping plants shorter distances typically uses fewer resources, something we can all get behind!
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Maps, Wetland Status & More
MAP OF NATIVE RANGE
Recorded County Distribution: USDA data.
Native To
| AR, CT, DC, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SD, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV, AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, TX, WA, WY |
Legal Status
Wetland Status
| Arid West | FAC |
| Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain | FAC |
| Eastern Mountains and Piedmont | FAC |
| Great Plains | FAC |
| Midwest | FAC |
| Northcentral and Northeast | FAC |
| Western Mountains, Valleys, and Coast | FAC |
MAP OF WETLAND DELINEATION REGIONS
Interpreting Wetland Status
|
Code |
Status |
Designation |
Comment |
|
OBL |
Obligate Wetland |
Hydrophyte |
Almost always occur in wetlands |
|
FACW |
Facultative Wetland |
Hydrophyte |
Usually occur in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands |
|
FAC |
Facultative |
Hydrophyte |
Occur in wetlands and non-wetlands |
|
FACU |
Facultative Upland |
Nonhydrophyte |
Usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands |
|
UPL |
Obligate Upland |
Nonhydrophyte |
Almost never occur in wetlands |
Classification
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants |
| Superdivision | Spermatophyta | Seed plants |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants |
| Class | Liliopsida | Monocotyledons |
| Subclass | Commelinidae | |
| Order | Cyperales | |
| Family | Cyperaceae | Sedge family |
| Genus | Carex | sedge |
| Species | Carex brevior | shortbeak sedge |
ADDITIONAL COMMON NAMES:
straw sedge, plains oval sedge, fescue sedge
SCIENTIFIC SYNONYMS:
Carex festucacea var. brevior
Carex straminea var. brevior
Plant Sizes
Sizes Sizes
Sizes info
Shipping & Planting
SHIPPING INFO:
Shipping is free on all plants orders!
Your plants will ship using each grower’s preferred method: FedEx Ground, UPS Ground, or Spee-Dee Ground (in select midwestern states). Our growers ship orders Monday through Wednesday. The farther your plants need to travel, the earlier in the week they will ship. The goal is to have all plants delivered by the end of the week.
Shipping plugs:
Plugs are shipped in full flats, sometimes also referred to as trays. Multiple flats can be shipped in a single box. The flats are wrapped in netting or craft paper to secure the plants, and spacers are used between flats to keep the plants from being crushed.
When you unpack your plugs, the plants will have been somewhat flattened by the netting or craft paper. They will straighten out within a couple of days. You may also gently “fluff” them a bit to speed up the process. In some cases, your plants might have been cut back before packing, if the grower deemed them to have become too tall for safe packaging. Don’t worry, though, these guys know what they’re doing and would not compromise the health of the plants. They’ll fill back in in no time.
After receiving your plants’ journey in a dark box, it will be important to acclimate them to sunlight again. Over a couple of days, you should gradually move them into their preferred light exposure, and water them as per their requirement.
Although we always recommend putting your plants in the ground as soon as possible, they can stay healthy in the flats for a considerable amount of time. The key is to respect their growing requirements: if the species requires full sun, do not store them in the shade. If it is best adapted to dry soil, do not over-water.
PLANTING INFO:
Planting plugs:
We consider plugs ready to ship when the plants’ roots have filled the entire liner cell and the plants can easily be pulled out. In some cases you will have to go about it gently, wiggling the plant by the crown, and possibly squeezing the bottom of the liner to compress the growing medium and release the roots. Other times, the plants will appear to be root bound. They are not in the traditional sense. The plants are healthy but they have used up all the growing medium available to them. Plugs are at an aggressive stage of growth. As soon as planted the roots will immediately expand into your native soil. They establish faster than plants in larger containers, because they don’t have the luxury of a lot of growing media that can inhibit the roots from venturing outside of their comfort zone.
We are not going to address area preparation because the process can be complex and is always site-specific. However, as a rule, we recommend disturbing the soil as little as possible, and we do not recommend amending the soil. If you chose the right plant for the right conditions they will thrive. Any disturbance and amendments will only encourage weeds to emerge that never had a chance to do so before.
Installing plugs cannot be easier: dig a hole large enough for the roots to fit snugly inside, then water them in to eliminate air gaps. We recommend using a soil knife, sometimes referred to as hori hori, or a drill-adapted auger if it’s a large installation. If you use an auger, you will need a powerful drill. Depending on the size of the project and the type of soil, the process can be beyond what an average drill will bear. Mulching is recommended after installation to help keep weeds down while the plants establish. Be sure to keep it away from the crown of the plants. For large projects, you may want to mulch the area before planting, rather than tiptoeing through it after the fact. As a side note: if you are installing plugs in the fall, you might want to plant them so that the crown is about ¾” lower than the surrounding soil. The winter’s freeze/thaw cycles can push plugs out if the roots did not have enough time to establish and anchor them in.