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Ornamental Grass

San Diego - Carex Prairie Fire

14 years ago

I'm a new gardener who landscape designed our new house. We live a few blocks from the beach in So Cal Zone 24 (Western Garden Book). The carex prairie fire (Carex Tenansis I think) is 3 years old. Is it a cool season or warm season plant? I let the area dry out completely before watering, but in summer it really browns out. Does it need to be kept more moist? One of my Master Gardener friends showed me how to dig down 4" to find out how wet the soil is before watering anything, and it gets completely dusty. It used to be gorgeous yellow green and fiery orange ends, flowing like 3' waves of hair down the bank, but now lots of dead clumps. Thanks for info. Oh, and I feed quarterly with humus based fertilizer (Pro Gro or something like that).

Comments (2)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
14 years ago
'Prairie Fire' is a named form of Carex testacea, orange or New Zealand sedge. This is a cool season grass that puts out most of its growth in spring and fall. It also needs the cooler temps of these seasons to produce the intense color it is known for. It doesn't really appreciate very dry conditions -- it would prefer to grow in consistently moist, but not wet, soils.
donn_
14 years ago
GG48's right. It'll do best with consistent moisture. It also doesn't need ferts, more than once every other year.
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