Carex elata 'Aurea' Care Guide
Carex elata 'Aurea' (Bowles's Golden Sedge) is a tussock-forming golden sedge for pond margins and bog gardens.
Overview
Carex elata 'Aurea', commonly called Bowles's Golden Sedge, is a golden-leaved cultivar of the tufted sedge. The species is a tussock-forming evergreen perennial of nutrient-rich wetlands. The cultivar is prized for bright gold foliage with green margins and has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It is used along pond margins and in bog gardens for strong contrast.
Taxonomy
- Family: Cyperaceae
- Genus: Carex
- Scientific name: Carex elata 'Aurea'
- Common synonyms: Bowles Golden Sedge
Habitat
The parent species is native to Europe, North Africa (Atlas Mountains), Turkey, Iran and Central Asia, growing in marshes, fens, wet woods and shallow water margins. It forms dense tussocks and reaches around 1.2 m tall and 1.5 m wide as a clump, blooming from May to June. The species is classed Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Tank requirements
- Placement: background / margin, emersed growth
- Temperature: 5-24 °C (41-75 °F)
- pH: 6.0-8.0
- GH: 4-20 °dGH
- Lighting: high
- CO2: not required
- Mature height: up to about 60 cm in cultivation
Growth and propagation
This is a medium-growing tussock sedge propagated by division of established clumps. The golden colouration is strongest in good light. As a marginal it is grown emersed at the water's edge rather than submerged in an aquarium.