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Introduced from Japan by well-known horticulturist, Barry Yinger, 'Ice Dance' is a prime example of why sedges are becoming so popular in landscaping. This dense, mounding sedge reaches 9 to 12 inches tall, slowly spreading by rhizomes, creating a large beautiful display. It has very clean, distinctly variegated 1/2-inch wide grass-like leaves of dark green with white borders, which display a richer color the more shade they are given.

It is easily grown in medium to wet soil in part to full shade, preferring moist, well-drained locations with plenty of organic matter incorporated into the soil. Waterside plantings are ideal, but the shade border is also fine provided the soil is never allowed to completely dry out. Give 'Ice Dance' a winter mulch, and cut it back to the ground in late winter for best foliage display next year.

This deer-resistant sedge is appropriate for many applications, from massed or grouped displays in borders or woodland gardens, to areas along ponds and streams, to a companion to shade-loving plants such as hostas, or even as a low-maintenance container plant. Its brownish flowers in late spring are insignificant, but its foliage color is superb, staying evergreen in the South, and even maintaining some color throughout the colder region winters. 'Ice Dance' tends to be pest and disease resistance. Zones 5-9.