Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Ice Dance Sedge (Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance')cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called ice dance sedge, variegated japanese sedge.

More about ice dance sedge

About Ice Dance Sedge

Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance' · also called ice dance sedge, variegated japanese sedge · flowering

Ice Dance is a tough, spreading Japanese sedge with glossy dark-green leaves edged crisp white. Slowly rhizomatous, it forms a dense evergreen groundcover that excels in shade and tolerates difficult sites. It needs moist, well-drained soil and copes with deep shade, dry shade once established, and foot-edge planting. Insignificant brown flower spikes appear in late spring.

Cold limit: USDA 5-9 · RHS H6 (-23 to 27°C)

Watch for — Brown, tatty old foliage: Normal winter wear; comb out or shear back dead leaves in early spring before new growth.

What ice dance sedge's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — ice dance sedge is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 5-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H6 means: Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe. On the US scale that maps to USDA 5-9 — the zones where it can be left outdoors year-round.

New to these scales? The USDA hardiness zone map explained covers how the zone numbers work, and you can find your own zone with the zone finder.

Minimum temperature — and what happens below it

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. Ice Dance Sedge is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for ice dance sedge as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 to −15 °C once established.
Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root.
First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.

Can ice dance sedge go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 5-9 and it overwinters with little or no help.
It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy.
The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

Work back from your local frost dates with the frost-date calculator: the last spring frost and first autumn frost are what really decide when ice dance sedge can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

Ice Dance Sedge hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is ice dance sedge cold hardy?

Yes — ice dance sedge is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 5-9, it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Ice Dance Sedge is hardy across USDA 5-9; it belongs in the ground or a frost-proof container, not on a windowsill, and many types actively need a cold winter to perform.

What is the minimum temperature ice dance sedge can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. Ice Dance Sedge is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is ice dance sedge?

Ice Dance Sedge is rated USDA 5-9 and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can ice dance sedge survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 5-9 and it overwinters with little or no help. It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy. The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

What happens to ice dance sedge below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 to −15 °C once established. Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root. First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.