wool grass
Scirpus cyperinus
USDA zones3 to 9
SunHandles full sun to partial sun
WaterHandles dry or moist or wet soil
Size3 to 5 feet tall2 to 4 feet wide
- Habit
- Grass/grass-like
- Bloom season
- Spring, summer, autumn, winter
- Bloom color
- Green maturing to brown
- Foliage color
- Green
- Soil types
- Sand, loam, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- Acidic (pH<6.8) , circumneutral (pH 6.8-7.2)
Garden uses
Attracts
Notes
Wool grass (Scirpus cyperinus) is a grass for borders, meadows, rain gardens, and naturalized areas. It is hardy to USDA zone 3, or down to -40°F (-40°C). This plant likes full or part sun and dry to wet soil of most types. It forms dense clumps 3 to 6 feet tall. Fuzzy brown bristles cover the seed clusters and give the plant its woolly look. Birds use it for cover, and waterfowl eat the seeds.
Pairs well with Smooth aster, Northern bayberry, and Prairie dropseed.
Native range
Eastern North America.