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Need to tame a Pendulous Sedge

Beebop164Beebop164 Posts: 40
in Problem solving
I want to keep this but tidy it up and reduce the size. Is it best to dig up the periphery and hope the central bit looks ok?

Should I cut it all back first? 

I've tried to include a photo

Many thanks
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  • Beebop164Beebop164 Posts: 40

  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    edited June 2023
    Pull up the bits you don't want, you can dig them out if necessary, the rest will be fine. 
    (Crop a little off photos before posting and they go the right way up. 👍)

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Personally, I wouldn't entertain keeping that in a garden at all. If it's the one I think it is, it's a real thug, and seeds everywhere. 
    You can certainly chop it back any way you want though. It's quite hard to kill  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If you love it and want to keep it you could remove some and see how the rest looks before you decide whether to cut it back, but it's obviously happy there (maybe too happy) and it'll just spread again. Personally, I'd dig the lot out and plant something else.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • Beebop164Beebop164 Posts: 40
    Thanks all! It's a big and challenging garden so we tend to keep anything that thrives..I just pull up the little seedlings ...good to know I can't really harm it though! 

    Thanks for the tip about the photos 😊
  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    God no, they evade death no matter what. 😄
    I had one in compacted ground, but it was easy to pull bit by bit.
    You can also easily pull the seed heads before they ripen. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think ‘taming a pendulous sedge’ is a contradiction in terms 🙃

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Slow-wormSlow-worm Posts: 1,630
    Dovefromabove said:
    I think ‘taming a pendulous sedge’ is a contradiction in terms 🙃
    Indeed. But it sounds like some kind of horticultural snake charming or a philosophical Ted Talk, and I quite like that.. 😄
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited June 2023
    Make sure it doesn't set seed.

    I attack mine with sharp hedging shears.  Mostly from the sides low down, somtimes I just cut the whole thing to the ground.  It soon bounces back.

    I just checked: Plants: "what plant do you regret planting".  I'm surprised it hasn't featured, yet.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Fairygirl said:
    Personally, I wouldn't entertain keeping that in a garden at all. If it's the one I think it is, it's a real thug, and seeds everywhere. 
    You can certainly chop it back any way you want though. It's quite hard to kill  :)
    I had one growing in my pond for a few years and it didn't seem to be a problem. Then last year I started finding seedlings everywhere including on huge clump in an awkward spot. Removing the one from the pond was a tough enough job and I just left it on the gravel to dry out and die because it was too big to do anything else with it. Definitely one I regret planting but luckily the plants near by have had a huge growth spurt with it gone and they've filled the gaps rapidly.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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