Foothill Sedge (Carex tumulicola) - foliage plant, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Foothill Sedge

Carex tumulicola

Also called slender sedge

Foothill Sedge blooms from May through June.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
May–Jun
checked
Hardiness
Zones 6–10
checked
Sun
Part shade
checked
Water
Moderate water
checked
Mature size
12 in × 20 in
checked
Type
Grass
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Foothill Sedge

Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 6–10. Expect it to reach about 12 in tall and 20 in wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years (a house reading).

Pets

  • Not yet checked for pets.

Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.

No toxicity note is on file for Foothill Sedge. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.

Verification
What was checked

Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 7 sources it was checked against

When to plant Foothill Sedge

Plant Foothill Sedge in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 8, the middle of its hardy zones 6 to 10, spring means February to April and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 8, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 8 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Foothill Sedge get?

Illustration of Foothill Sedge drawn to scale beside an adult12 intall5 ft 7 inan adult20 inwide
About 12 in tall and 20 in wide at maturity: shin-high beside an adult.

See Foothill Sedge in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Foothill Sedge

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Foothill Sedge about 20 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
20 in apart
Per 10 sq ft
about 4
4 by 8 ft bed
about 8

Add Foothill Sedge to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Foothill Sedge's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on November 5, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

  • xeraplants.comXera Plantsheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • devilmountainnursery.comDevil Mountain Wholesale Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
  • watershednursery.comThe Watershed Nursery Cooperativeheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • store.theodorepayne.orgTheodore Payne Foundation Nurseryheight, spread, sun, water and bloom months and color
  • a100.gov.bc.caB.C. Conservation Data Centre, Ministry of Environmentheight, sun and bloom months and color
  • shop.cnpsmarin.orgCalifornia Native Plant Society Marin Chapter plant saleheight, sun, water and trait tags
  • web.pdx.eduPortland State University, Northwestern Oregon Wetland Plants Projectbloom months and color

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

Where it grows wild

Native to 3 states and 1 province

United States: California, Oregon, Washington

Canada: British Columbia

Recorded growing wild in 40 counties.

Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.

The Sedge group

One of 42 in the Sedge group. Same genus, similar care.

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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

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