Uncinia rubra Everflame

Uncinia Everflame is a beautiful cherry red New Zealand perennial locally called  Red Carex or  Fire Grass.  It forms a compact, dense and gracefully arching clump, of stunning foliage in fiery tones which is extremely decorative throughout the year. Suitable for growing in the ground in mild oceanic regions, red Uncinia is also attractive on terraces and balconies.  

Uncinia Everflame belongs to the Cyperaceae family. Its wild ancestor, called Uncinia rubra, is native to wooded mountainous regions of New Zealand in slightly damp places, on non-chalky soils. This plant forms a trailing herbaceous clump that slowly spreads with its short underground rhizomes until it forms a large rounded clump about 40 cm (16in) high and wide. The stems are erect, stiff and triangular. The decorative foliage is evergreen and glossy, consisting of long, ribbon-like, pointed leaves, 15 to 35 cm (6 to 14in) long whose colour is simply remarkable, ranging from cherry red to orange to coppery pink and bronze green. Flowering takes the form of insignificant, short brown-black spikes followed by small achenes with a hook that allows them to cling to the fur or plumage of animals.

Uncinia Everflame is a bit sensitive to cold (-10 °C at its lowest) and it is best to grow it in milder areas. It also thrives very well in containers which will need to be sheltered in a protected place in winter, such as an unheated veranda, a small greenhouse, etc... The flamboyant colour palette of its foliage will enliven the plants planted with it in wet areas: Japanese irises, ferns, water avens, astilbes, sedges, Euphorbia palustris...