By Norman Winter
Tribune News Service
In the last couple of years, there have been few plants that totally overwhelmed me with their beauty in the garden like Everillo. I briefly touched on this incredible sedge last winter but now after watching it for the second year, and seeing it through a brutal summer, even more, I know this is a must-have plant.
Botanically speaking Everillo is Carex oshimensis and has the common name Japanese sedge. There seems to be no plant combination that is not made better by partnering with Everillo. The trade is suggesting it as an incredible companion with hostas and ferns and without a doubt that would be a garden of staggering beauty.
But I have watched it in the cool season with pansies, red kale, and iridescent pink tulips. While I thought this was the ultimate then I saw it in late spring with compact Electric Orange SunPations and in summer with tropical elephant ears and others with rusty orange coleus sporting margins that echoed Everillo’s brilliance. All of the landscape situations were mesmerizing.
For years I have told gardeners to never underestimate the power of the fine leafed texture that grasses give to the flower border. Sedges like Everillo give even more testimony to this concept. Thankfully Everillo has hit big in the market making it easier to find.
As I’ve said, this grass has year-round effectiveness. This means you can have the year-round golden/chartreuse lantern effect throughout the landscape. Remember though it is the protection from the midday and afternoon sun that gives this incredible color. This is a plant for a wide region of the country as it is cold hardy from zones 5-9.
If you think about the companion plants I’ve touted, from hostas, and ferns to SunPatiens and elephant ears you realize the importance of soil preparation. Good fertile organic rich soil will not only give you the green thumb but the most dazzling Everillos in the neighborhood.
But don’t stop with the just the landscape. Incorporate the Everillo into your containers for the porch patio or deck. The Everillo will form about an 18-inch tall mound with a dramatic weeping effect. At this size, it has the ability to be stunning as a mono-culture or standalone plant. I like them in rectangular containers where they are used in the front of the pot, weeping over the edge and taller foliage or flowers are to the rear. This look is exceptional for window box plantings.
Everillo will work in rock gardens, near water gardens and the obvious those special “look at me” textural plants for the flower border.
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