Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

Woolgrass

Scirpus cyperinus (SIR-pus sy-per-RY-nus)

Family: Cyperaceae Native Herbaceous (3-15 ft)

Woolgrass Bulrush is a native aquatic sedge found in marshes, swamps, stream and/or pond margins, wet meadows other disturbed wet sites. It spreads by it creeping rhizomes in wet soils, including standing water. It prefers full sun but will appreciate some shade when grown in hot summer climates. The fleecy growth makes an attractive addition to a winter garden. Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems: No serious issues.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 33 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Dulichium arundinaceum var. arundinaceum Saururus cernuus Typha latifolia

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Native Plant; Ornamental Grasses and Sedges
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil drainage
Moist | Occasionally Dry | Occasionally Wet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in. | Width: 2 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
The leaf blades will turn a yellowish-brown in the fall.
Fall color
Brown/Copper; Gold/Yellow
Flower color
Brown/Copper; Red/Burgundy
Flower form
Insignificant
Flower detail
The looms from July to September
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit detail
Displays from August to October
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern North America
Attracts
Small Mammals; Songbirds
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Naturalized Area; Near Septic; Pond; Woodland
Landscape theme
Native Garden; Rain Garden; Water Garden; Winter Garden
Design feature
Barrier; Border; Mass Planting
Garden tags
#NC native #marshes #native sedge #disturbed areas #wet soils tolerant #Piedmont Mountains FACW #Coastal OBL #food source hard mast fruit #food source fall #winter interest #naturalized area #Audubon #food source roots #HS303 #rain garden

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.