Fox Sedge

Carex vulpinoidea

Fox Sedge is a sturdy, adaptable sedge for consistently wet sites. sunny or partly shaded, clay-heavy or mucky, seasonally flooded or just reliably moist. The upright, medium-height clumps have a pleasant fountain form, and the densely packed, fox-tail-like seedheads in summer are distinctive and botanically interesting, clustered into a tight, elongated spike that looks nothing like a typical sedge flower. It's a workhorse for rain garden centers, stormwater bioswales, wet meadow plantings, and pond margins. Plant it alongside Soft Rush, Tussock Sedge, and Blue Flag Iris for a wet-site planting that handles inundation and provides continuous wildlife habitat structure through the season. Waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds use the seeds and dense clumps through fall and winter. Cut it back to 4 inches in late winter. In fertile, wet soils it spreads steadily by rhizomes. divide in spring if needed to manage spread.