How To Choose Which Mondo Grass Variety Is A Better Ground Cover For Your Yard

If you love a low-maintenance garden that always looks lush, using mondo grass as a ground cover is an excellent choice. Mondo grass has become a popular low-growing species for many gardeners. It's useful for planting around trees in shady spots of the yard, as a border plant to add interest to flower beds, or as a lawn alternative in low-traffic areas of your garden. There are a few different species or cultivars of this evergreen perennial ground cover, so you need to know how to choose the best variety for your yard. Your selection will depend on where you want the mondo grass to grow and what type of landscaping feature you're after.

Standard mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus) can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 6 through 10 and prefers a shaded spot but can handle some sun exposure. It grows to a height of around 1 foot and produces small white flowers in summer followed by bright blue berries that are attractive to birds. Dwarf mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nana') can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 7 through 10 but only grows to a height of around 6 inches. Black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus) is a striking species with almost black leaves that generates purple or white flowers on tall stems. These are also complemented by blue berries, and this variety can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 6 through 9. It can also reach a maximum height of up to 12 inches.

Quite often, making the right choice for any plants you want to grow depends on what you want to achieve. For example, if you're looking for an alternative to standard lawn grass in shady spots around your garden, you could select either standard or dwarf mondo grass. However, standard mondo grass will need mowing around once a year while the dwarf variety is the ideal no-mow solution. 

On the other hand, if you want to plant mondo grass as a ground cover around taller trees, you might want to consider standard mondo grass because it has a bit of extra height, and the blue berries will be attractive to the birds that visit your yard. In fact, it's the ideal selection when you want to hide ugly tree roots with an easy-to-grow landscaping stunner. Dwarf mondo grass also makes a great filler in between stepping stones and can handle a little light foot traffic. 

But if you want to create a more dramatic effect in your garden, black mondo grass will do the trick. Not only will the eye-catching dark foliage add another dimension of color, but the showy flowers will also stand out among the strappy dark leaves for a truly stunning display. In fact, this is one purple-black ground cover that is definitely worth its slow growth for the additional depth it can add to your front yard or backyard. To add even more impact, you might want to explore some colorful companion plants that will look perfect next to black mondo grass.