Can this grass be saved?

Simone_in_Wiltshire

Wonderful @Plantminded just the message I was hoping for. I will wait up to early March.
Of course, I can't proof that it was a fox, it was just a guess, because it happened a week after the frost, and literally over night.
When we opened the window in the morning this week, a fox was lying in neighbour's raised bed at 9 in the morning. It's that fox where the left back foot is damaged he (or she) can't use it any more. Since that stupid neighbour on the right closed the fence, the foxes now jump over the fence and often into our veggie trog.

I went through my pictures and can't find one with grass and label. What a failure )

Fairygirl

Carexes are very easy to split, and you can take off any damaged bits at the same time. I've done it many times. They can get quite manky looking over winter, or they do here  anyway. They're very easy as grasses go 
I find it a bit strange that a fox would want to lie in one though. It would surely have to be quite dry to be appealing 

GardenerSuze

@Simone_in_Wiltshire Grasses and sedges do need different growing conditions. Perhaps post another photo when it is growing for an ID? I can just about see a flower in your photo. Sedge/ carex have a very distinct flower shape, different to  grasses.
Grasses also have hollow stems.

bédé

I co-exist with my foxes.  But resent pampered neighbourhood cats, which can be responsible for the same sort of damage.

Plantminded

As @GardenerSuze has said, you can cut back Carex by up to 50%.  It's best to do this in March/April, but not in autumn or winter.  I grow two of the bronze leaved types.  Although they are sedges, they are tough and adaptable  They grow just as well in my sandy free draining soil as grasses, now that I have added a few layers of organic mulch. 

This list of Carex varieties stocked by Knoll gardens may help you with your ID @Simone_in_Wiltshire : Carex – Knoll Gardens | Ornamental Grasses and Flowering Perennials

GardenerSuze

@Plantminded I am beginning to think it is a grass, it does look like the second photo has a hollow flowering stem. Very confusing.

Plantminded

It does look very much like a Stipa gigantea I once had @GardenerSuze.  I removed it because the long tatty leaves made the border untidy!  Lovely when in flower though.

GardenerSuze

@Plantminded That is interesting that was have been my first thought. The problem was the more I looked at it I started to doubt it! Suze 

Fairygirl

Regardless of what type of grass or sedge it is [and @Simone_in_Wiltshire seems sure it's a carex as she had a label] it would be best to wait until spring before doing any thing. 
Splitting or cutting back at this time of year can be dicey - especially splitting.
Sedges have sharper, triangular stems too, so you could check those. 

GardenerSuze

I agree don't touch whilst dormant , it is now a case of wait and see.