PlantFiles: Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea

Attractive seed heads, open bunching habit with graceful, fine, arching green foliage make this an excellent sedge for rain gardens or other occasionally flooded or damp areas. It can tolerate a bit of shade, but gets thin & wan in too much shade. We planted it along the northern edge of our rain garden adjacent to a buffalo & blue grama grass & stepping stone path where it makes a nice transition. All get some shading from taller species just south of the sedges, but only the ones that got over crowded by some heliopsis didn't thrive until we cut the heliopsis back a bit. It does not spread vegetatively, but does re-seed decently, so it will hold its own once established but not be too aggressive (at least in here in the upper midwest).

Native to all the lower 48 states except Utah. Long-lived perennial. Important larval host to skipper butterflies, and a few other butterfly & moth species.

It can take being trimmed back in the spring, when we cut back our prairie native rain garden.

Grows from seed, but needs 1-2 months of cold, moist stratification for best germination success. It also has small seeds, and should be planted on the surface of the soil, with a dusting of soil at most. If you are germinating in pots, you will need to be careful to not swamp the top of the pot when watering until after germination, as this can cause the seeds to get too much soil on top of them. Also available as plugs from at least one major upper midwest native plant nursery & 3" pots from another. We've used the plugs with good success.

Also called "Brown Fox Sedge."