Plant in full to part sun in a moist well-draining soil. Its unusual orange color, most vivid during winter months, looks best when grown in full sun - if planted in shade plants will remain mostly green. Hardy to below 0° F and useful in gardens in USDA Hardiness Zone: 6 - 10. A nice plant where its weeping quality will be shown, spilling over walls or rocks, or in a large container and great for contrasting with rocks and paving. Some recommend trimming the flowers off, but some should be left to allow this short-lived plant to reseed. Allow seedlings to come up to perpetuate the planting and use a hard rake to remove amu old dried-up leaves. It is resistant to predation by rabbits and deer.

Carex testacea is common to both North and South Island of New Zealand where it grows in grasslands, forests and out on dunes. The name for the genus is a Latin word describing the sedges and the specific epithet is from the Latin word 'testaceous' means "made of brick or tiles" or "brick colored". It is also known as Speckled Sedge. We grew this interesting and attractive plant from 1989 until we closed the nursery in 2025. 

The information displayed on this page about Carex testacea is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.